Blood and Magic
by Obsidian Winter
Summary: Sarah goes back underground but this time she is an adult and goes willingly. War is coming to the Goblin Kingdom. Can Jareth forgive Sarah for her actions last time? Of course he can; it's a J/S romance! Rating may change due to gory/smuttiness. R&R.
1. The Introduction

**The Introduction – In Which The Author Makes a Few Points**

A few notes before we begin:

Point One

This is the first fiction (original or otherwise) that I have allowed anyone to read and, while I have no issues with constructive criticism (which is more than welcome), any unnecessary comments or down right rudeness will not be tolerated.

For anyone who doesn't understand the concept of constructive criticism, the meaning in the Oxford English Dictionary is as follows:

**Constructive** Adj. Having a useful and helpful effect rather than being negative or with no purpose: constructive criticism / suggestions / advice

From the verb construct.

**Criticism** Noun. The act of expressing disapproval of and opinions about faults or bad qualities; a statement showing disapproval

So criticise all you want, just be polite about it and give me (realistic) suggestions for improvement.

Point Two

In my personal opinion, authors' notes should be kept to a minimum; if you have to explain everything with a note, then the story still needs work. That said, it is not an attack on other authors, simply my opinion (so no offence intended)

I will also try my utmost to keep bad spelling and grammar on the first draft and not on the copy you see so if you do spot any of the damned things please let me know and I will get my magic spelling and grammar button (commonly known as the F7 key) to fix it. This goes for any passages that you think could read better too.

Point Three

This is my idea for characters that belong to Jim Henson and all the rest of the geniuses who actually created the wonderful film known as 'Labyrinth'. I may add some of my own to help the story along but I don't claim to own Sarah, Hoggle, Didymus, Ludo, Jareth (shame) or any other characters or places or objects that feature in the film. So don't try and sue me!

Point Four

Any similarities to anyone else's fictions are purely coincidental and I apologise profusely to anyone who feels that my fiction is too similar to theirs. I haven't read many fan fictions written by other people, and the ones that I have read I have gone out of my way to avoid plagiarising. I'm trying to think of something different to the other stories out there. The success of this will be judged when I've finished and I'll probably do some revision of chapters/sections.

Point Five

The last thing I will mention (the Gods know that this introduction is long enough already) is that I know the first chapter is short, but I tried other ways of arranging the chapters and this one makes the most sense.

Thank you and enjoy the show.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One – In Which Our Story Begins**

Life had not been what Sarah had expected it to be. Since leaving the Labyrinth nothing had changed, not really. Except, maybe if you counted things getting worse.

Sarah stood in the tower of Le Château D'eau, a replica castle built as a tourist attraction in her favourite park three years ago. She was alone and unlikely to be disturbed as this area was closed to the public; she had ducked through the closed off corridors while the tour guide was distracted by a small child asking questions about magic. The woman had answered disapprovingly, as if it were ridiculous to believe that fairies and goblins really existed.

As Sarah stared without seeing out of the window over looking the clearing where she had spent most of her childhood and early teens, the events of the last five years played out in her head in excruciating detail and a familiar pain in her chest intensified.

* * *

><p><em>"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."<em>

_TS (Thomas Stearns) Eliot_


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2 - In Which Sarah's Life is Explained**

Upon her return from the Underground, Sarah had put away her toys and her costumes, storing most of them in the loft and donating the rest to Toby. Or at least she had tried; Karen had made an almost, but not quite, scathing comment about him not needing charity and how most of them were far too old and tatty to be safe for a baby. Sarah came home one day to find most of her treasures, including her beloved Lancelot, had been taken unceremoniously to the dump.

The only thing Sarah had not stored was her book, with its worn cover and dog-eared pages; which she kept with her most of the time, as if to remind herself it had really happened. To begin with she called on her friends most weeks and they would remember their adventure together. Over time, Sarah stopped calling. She was tired, or was doing something else and sometimes there was no answer.

Her parents had noticed the change in her behaviour, but their response was not what she had anticipated and far from positive. Her father began working longer hours with fewer days off, and subsequently spent increasingly less time with his family. When he was home he was exhausted and spent most of that time either sleeping or building his model airplanes in his study. He hardly knew Toby and although he tried to commend Sarah for her behaviour, seeing her once every two weeks or so did not make that easy.

Karen used this change to heap responsibilities upon Sarah. She frequently found herself grimly wondering if her life had really been that bad before the Labyrinth.

If Sarah said anything that hinted she was unhappy with the arrangement Karen would reel off the standard speech about 'Rights Coming With Responsibilities' that plague every teenager, as justification for this. Sarah would have had no qualms with doing more housework, or getting the weekly shop when her stepmother asked, if only she could see some of these fabled 'Rights' she was supposed to be getting.

"_And finally, one day, when she was tired from a day of housework. And hurt by the harsh words of her stepmother…" _the recollection reverberated around her head.

Still, Sarah grit her teeth and tried to ignore her step-mothers injustices, hoping that now Toby was beginning to talk, she could have a proper relationship with her baby brother. Or at least have some semblance of friendship with him.

Unfortunately, his parents had the habit of spoiling him. She was sure that it wasn't intentional. Their father hardly saw them because of work and on the rare occasions that he spent time with them, he turned to bribery to keep the peace. Toby, being young, took these gifts and treats for granted and learned that if he kicked off, he received more attention or sweets or a promise that they would go to the park. He began to turn this to his advantage, and Sarah, being nearly seventeen, was forced to sacrifice time with her father and understand that her baby brother hadn't learned to share yet.

Karen found it hard to cope with a child, who was, by now, well into his terrible twos and rapidly approaching tyrannical threes, while maintaining her social life and status. She quickly found that, when given whatever he was screaming for, Toby was quiet much more quickly. She often left him with distant relatives or friends of friends when Sarah was at school and unable to see to him.

_"And the baby was a spoiled child, who wanted everything for himself, and the girl was practically a slave…"_

Toby was bought every new toy he wanted. He was dressed in designer clothes and had ten different outfits for every day of the week. But no one consistently spent time with him. He was the perfect accessory child.

And so, Sarah was slowly pushed to one side. Her stepmother was too wrapped up in her own life; her father was always at work and Toby showed no interest in someone that couldn't buy him expensive toys.

She tried to understand. She tried not to feel jealous. Above all, she tried not to keep hoping that, despite his infancy at the time; Toby would remember The Labyrinth and how Sarah had fought to get him back. But it was a loosing battle, and gradually, Sarah became increasingly depressed and withdrawn.

* * *

><p>"<em>Jealousy is bred in doubts. When those doubts change into certainties, then the passion either ceases or turns absolute madness."<em>

_- La Rochefoucauld_


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter 3 – In Which Things Go From Bad to Worse**

After finishing high school, Sarah, who had loved the theatre since childhood, applied to several acting colleges. And after much deliberation, chose one with a good reputation, fifty miles from her family.

_Just in case they need me, _she had thought.

And so she had moved into the college dormitory at the start of the academic year, full of hope for the future.

Sadly, that hope was short lived.

It wasn't that Sarah minded the hard work or the long hours. It was just that…well…she had no friends. Even thinking it sounded childish, but when you added to that the fact that her lecturers ignored her, the acting coach always (and that _means_ always) gave her the bit parts with no skill required and her dance teacher constantly paired her with the creepy guy who touched his partner up, it all got a bit too much. She only ever learned theory and never got to put her skills into practice.

Late at night, Sarah would sit at her desk and read her book; it's familiar pages dulling the pain for a few moments. As she read through the story over and over, she began to realise how childish she has been. At fifteen, she had been so sure that she knew everything and had taken her friends for granted. She also came to realise what Jareth has been referring to in their final confrontation and how he had helped her to grow. It had seemed cruel to her at the time but the more she read, the more she realised that, with the possible exception of the cleaners, she had never been in any real danger in The Labyrinth. As time moved on, Sarah realised that she owed Jareth an apology.

Every few months, Sarah would call to her friends in the underground, but there was no response any more.

The feeling that she was invisible began to grow. Sarah was overlooked while standing in the middle of the room. People who she had sat next to, for the best part of six months, didn't know her name or even recognise her. One day, when a lecturer said her name, she didn't realise he was talking to her.

Sarah tried to recall the last time someone had spoken directly to her, what her name sounded like. _I'm Sarah, not just 'me' or 'I'. I'm Sarah._ The realisation came like a physical blow. She had lost her identity. She was a ghost of herself. She hardly spoke, never made eye contact, and never, ever drew attention to herself.

Sarah had been trying to pluck up the courage to drop out when the announcement had been made. Twenty lucky students would be sent for a workshop with one of the countries most talented actresses.

Her mother.

Sarah had not thought of her mother in nearly a decade, not since she had walked out on them to pursue her career. It must have been some kind of sign, Sarah desperately needed some kind of hope so she grabbed the opportunity and held on to it with some semblance of her old stubbornness.

She submitted her application for the course the same day as they became available, three minutes after receiving the form. She was turned down on the grounds that the trip was already full. Sarah was befuddled by that answer because, although the trip was popular, surely twenty or more people had not set their alarms for before 7am and beaten her to it.

Still, she had to take the colleges word for it. However, they agreed to put her on the top of the list of replacement candidates, if only to make this girl, who no one recognised, stop asking about it.

Two days before the workshop began, one of the chosen twenty dropped out of the trip. And so Sarah spent an entire 200-mile coach journey to the theatre owned by Linda Williams (or Linda Holmes as she now called herself) on the edge of her seat, much to the amusement of her condescending peers.

Upon their arrival, they had been swiftly fed and watered, then thrust immediately into work. The workshop consisted mainly of lectures with some minor role-play and some group work. All of this was with Linda Holmes herself. For the past two days Sarah had hoped and prayed that this would be the time that her mother would realise that this young woman of 20 with the same hair, so dark brown that it looked black, and the same eyes, the colour of the jade pendant she wore, was in fact her long lost daughter.

She had spent the whole journey there fantasising about the moment her mother realised who she was, swept her up in her arms and swore never to leave her again, but as the workshop progressed and her mother walked passed yet again, Sarah realised that the woman now talking animatedly at the front of the room, may as well have been a complete stranger.

She _was_ a complete stranger.

Sarah pulled out her tatty book and ran her hands over its smooth leather cover, trailing her hands over the gilt lettering on the front and spine as she frantically tried to keep the tears from building up in her eyes.

"Sarah!" snapped Mrs Feehan, the dance teacher, "Put that book away while Ms Holmes is talking!"

The whole room stopped and tuned to stare at her and the blood rushed to her cheeks. Linda (Sarah could no longer think of the woman as her mother) walked down towards the back of the room to see what the commotion was about. As she took in the sight of the book clutched protectively in Sarah's hands she spoke directly to her for the first time since their arrival:

"Oh, Labyrinth! I used to read that to my daughter when she was little more than a baby," She commented.

"Does that mean it's a baby's book?" asked one of Sarah's classmates under her breath, smirking spitefully.

Sarah's breath caught. Could this be it? Could it be that her mother hadn't forgotten her, it was just that she had changed so much that she couldn't recognise her daughter?

"My mom used to read it to me too," she replied quietly, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to ignore the sniggers from around the rest of the room at her answer.

As if on cue, the door burst open and a small girl of about Toby's age stood framed in the doorway for a second. She was possibly the most beautiful child that Sarah had ever seen. Her long light brown hair was shot with gold and woven into pigtails. The pale blue ribbons at their ends matched the dress she was wearing and set off the biggest brownest eyes in existence.

The girl saw Sarah's mother and her eyes lit up.

"Mommy!" cried the five-year-old happily as she threw her self into Linda's arms, pigtails flying and ribbons fluttering as she went.

"Hello, Sweetheart," greeted Linda as she picked up the child and turned to address the students, "Everyone, this is my darling daughter, Emily."

Linda carried on speaking but Sarah could only hear that last phrase. It was echoing around her head, taunting her. All the other students were gathering around Linda and her new daughter, cooing their compliments.

Sarah couldn't breathe and the room was spinning; she desperately needed to get out. She turned to Mrs Feehan blindly, mumbled something about a bathroom break while class was already interrupted and ran from the room.

* * *

><p><em>"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."<em>

_- Cardinal Mermillod_


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter 4 – In Which the Story Starts to Get Interesting**

Sarah never told Linda who she was and dropped out of college the next day, much to the disapproval of both her teachers, who had commented that she might have decided before taking up a valuable place on the trip, and her parents, who's main reaction had been the impact on Karen's social status and the fact that her father shouldn't have to support her if she wasn't going to go to college.

So she returned to her fathers' house and got a job at the local supermarket, which she hated, but at least she could pay her room and board, the rest of her paycheck went on books. Every opportunity she got Sarah would go up to her room and loose herself in a world outside of her own where it didn't matter if she was unwanted, unloved or invisible.

Late one night Sarah was in the kitchen getting a glass of water before bed when she heard voices. It was her father and Karen, they weren't arguing but they were close to it. Sarah didn't mean to eavesdrop, but then she heard something that rang a bell…her name, so she crept closer to the door.

"…Her being here," _Karen_, Sarah identified her stepmothers voice.

"Where else…go?…Her Father…" _Dad_. He sounded like he didn't know whether to be angry or apologetic as he defended his daughter to the woman who was such a big part of his life.

"She reminds you of _her_," _no need to ask who 'her' is,_ thought Sarah grimly.

"Yes, she does," admitted her father tiredly.

"How are you supposed to move on? You can't be expected to live in the past forever!"

Sarah's blood ran cold at those words and she waited for her fathers' response. _Please, Dad, say something._

None came and Karen spoke again: "I know she's your daughter, but Toby's our son. He thinks you love her more than him and he's still only a baby really. Any doubt of our love for him could damage him permanently.

"And it's not like she's been a good influence; dropping out of college like that. She's been moody and anti-social for months now. It's getting ridiculous! I suggested seeing a therapist but she won't hear of it. She just sits in her room all the time reading those trashy books."

Sarah remembered Karen's suggestion to get 'Professional Help', the main idea had been to have her committed, to get her out of the way. _It would have been an indefinite stay if you'd have had your way,_ thought Sarah bitterly.

"Alright, I'll talk to her," the sound of her fathers rapidly approaching footsteps forced Sarah to retreat behind a large potted plant, "maybe she could start looking for a place of her own."

With those words, her father walked into the kitchen and Sarah made a rapid escape to her sanctuary.

The next day, she made a trip to the hardware shop and bought all the things she would need, called to Karen that she was going out and wouldn't be back for a long time, and went to the castle.

* * *

><p><em>"Mysteriously and in ways that are totally remote from natural experience, the grey drizzle of horror induced by depression takes on the quality of physical pain."<em>

_- William Styron_


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5 – In Which Sarah Makes a Decision**

That was how Sarah came to be standing at the window, ten stories up in a restricted area of the castle.

After securely tying the rope she had bought to a cast iron ring that was bolted to the wall of the tower, she patiently wove the free end into a secure loop that tightened when pulled. That done, she sat by the window, going over the events of the last five years. She absently ran her hands over her beloved 'Labyrinth'. Not even her friends from the Underground came to her to visit, not any more.

Sarah sighed put down the book and stood up; an emotional numbness washing over her. She was about to pick up her rope when an idea came to her. She thought about it, carefully weighing it up.

_Well, it's not like I have anything to lose. _

Sarah picked up her book again, took a deep breath to steady herself, and said the words she swore she would never say again:

"I wish the goblins would come and take me away…right now."

Sarah waited. She waited for the cackling and squealing. She waited for the bangs and clatters.

Nothing.

Sarah sighed and turned to pick up her rope. Then nearly fell over in shock.

Sat, cross-legged on the window ledge, was the goblin king himself. He looked different of course but there was no way she could have mistaken him.

His hair was still white-blond and gossamer-fine, but far from the 80's glam rocker style of their last encounter, now it was all shoulder length and tied into a neat ponytail. His clothes were plain black and modern in design and there was no make-up on his face but his prominent cheekbones and miss-matched eyes still stood out.

As Sarah continued to catalogue the changes, he raised an eyebrow.

"You do know that it's rude to stare, don't you?" asked Jareth in his usual arrogant and condescending tone. Sarah glanced away; he could still make her feel like a silly child, even after all these years. "Why did you call on my goblins, Sarah?" he demanded.

_Strange, _thought Sarah, _he doesn't sound angry. Maybe a little put out and tired but…_

* * *

><p>Jareth was waiting for an answer.<p>

"Surely you had a reason. Or were you just bored and in search of some entertainment?"

"Er…well…" Sarah stuttered, before taking another deep breath in an attempt to quell the almost overwhelming urge to break down and cry, "I wanted to ask…that is…if it's…alright…if…maybe…"

Jareth was intrigued. _She's asking, not demanding, actually _asking_ for something. _He watched with barely concealed amusement as the girl stood in the middle of a replica castle tower, looking rather out of place in her jeans and thin sweater, tried to form a sentence.

She was staring determinedly at her feet as the conclusion to her request, _yes; it's definitely a request, _stumbled out from between what were, judging from the way she kept licking them, very dry lips.

"…I…could…go back…to…the…Underground?"

The only indication that Jareth was startled by the termination of Sarah's sentence was that he blinked once. Then, his voice dripping with defensive scorn, he tossed his reply contemptuously back to her: "Why would I do that?"

It wasn't that he was genuinely opposed to her request; he still couldn't believe that she hadn't demanded, it was the simple fact that he detested being taken by surprise. And Sarah had certainly done that.

Sarah gave an almost imperceptible flinch at those words and Jareth could have sworn that something in her eyes had died.

"Oh…ok…sorry to have bothered you," she murmured without looking up. Her response baffled him, not that he would show it. _What, no shouting? No 'but that's not fair!' What's happened to the obstinate, arrogant girl that took everything for granted? She seems so…_Jareth was rarely lost for words but the only word that fit he didn't dare think. _…broken. _His mind finished for him helpfully.

Sarah started to turn away, when she looked up at him, handed him a rather tatty copy of his book and whispered: "thank you," before stepping towards her bag and coat, heaped against the far wall.

Jareth was about to return to his kingdom, when, on impulse, he decided on a different course of action.

Sarah looked around the room, oblivious to Jareth who was stood in the corner, invisible to human eyes. He watched with interest as, instead of packing her things and leaving as he had expected, she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her bag and started writing. It was obviously a letter of some kind, judging from the layout though he was too far away to read it. He mentally cursed the limitations of magic in the human world and the drain that appearing there had caused him, forcing him to remain stationary, or else lose his invisibility.

While lost in his curiosity as to what she had written, he didn't notice that Sarah had tacked the note to the front of her bag, put away her pen and pulled out a very long rope until it tapped against his leg as it dangled from where it was tied securely to the wall. Jareth watched with mounting horror and disbelief as Sarah put the noose around her neck, tightened it so it wouldn't slip over her head and stepped onto the window ledge that had previously been occupied by the Goblin King.

Just as Sarah was preparing for a long drop and a sudden stop, she heard an angry, and altogether, unexpected exclamation.

"What, in the name of Magic, do you think you are _doing_?" Jareth thundered. He was in the middle of the room and moving swiftly towards her, trembling with fury.

"Well…I…it's…" Sarah gestured towards the rope and the ten story drop, stuttering again as she tried to explain.

Jareth waved his hands impatiently, stopping just inches from her; "Never mind _what_ you're doing, that seems obvious, _why_ are you doing it?" he has quickly moving from raging fury to confusion and exasperation towards her actions.

Jareth watched as Sarah, with much stuttering and through increasingly heavy tears, recounted the events that lead to her suicide attempt.

Suicide! These mortals and their strange ideas, as if killing herself would fix anything or make it any less painful. Jareth was distracted from the beginnings of a mental tirade by Sarah's tearful, if slightly hysterical, finale.

"…And after he suggested that I move out I realised that he wants to move on and forget, just like she did. I mean, well, they're both re-married with children and I'm a reminder of the one that went wrong. I'm dragging him back, just like I dragged her back but he can't just leave like she did so I decided to make it easier for all of them. I was about to do it when I thought of you and decided that I had nothing to lose by asking, but you said no so …I…I…" Sarah's sobbing finally became so heavy she had to stop speaking or stop breathing.

Jareth wasn't sure who the 'he', 'she' or 'they' were referring to throughout most of that but the events themselves explained the change in her mannerisms.

_And her manners for that matter. _He thought with a mixture of humour and sadness at the change in the stubborn girl who he had known.

"Very well," he relented, "you may return to the goblin city."

Sarah froze, mid-sob, "Th…Thank you," she said softly.

Jareth held up the hand not holding the book and a clear spherical crystal appeared, balanced on his fingertips.

"What is it?" asked Sarah, already knowing the answer.

"It's a crystal, nothing more," replied the goblin king as he rolled and flicked it from hand to hand in a way that would make the most proficient contact juggler jealous, "But if you turn it this way, and look into it, it will show you your dreams.

"But this is not a gift for an ordinary girl, who is overlooked by her family. Do you want it?" he asked, holding it still for her to take while magically untying the rope from around her neck.

Sarah looked at it with a wistful longing. To be able to go back, to be safe and have a chance at being herself again…

"Then forget them all."

Sarah reached for the crystal, then paused and looked at him.

Jareth waited, not giving any sign that his emotions were balanced on a knife-edge. He was half expecting her to stop shaking and crying, look at him and declare that it had all been a joke at his expense. That she just wanted to see if he still came when she snapped her fingers.

She did say that she went to acting college after all; surely such a thing would easily be within her talents. The hand that safely gripped his book, tightened in anger at the idea.

_If she does that, she won't have to worry about _jumping_ out of that window _he thought in fury.

Still outwardly calm he watched Sarah.

She spoke quietly, afraid that she might shatter the rigid control over her tears: "It's not going to turn into a snake again, is it?"

A small smile touched Jareths' lips, "No," he answered simply.

Sarah gave a small smile of her own and made contact with the luminescent ball in his hand. At her touch, it burst like a bubble and a familiar feeling of drowsiness came over her, a half remembered melody drifted through the air.

"Peaches…" she mumbled as she gave in to the compulsion to let her eyes drift shut and her consciousness slip into the warm and comforting darkness beckoning. Blissful oblivion stole over her and the emotional turmoil melted away into obscurity.

Jareth caught her as she fell forward, lifting her into his arms. Her long dark hair brushed his arm as he turned and transported them both to the goblin city.

* * *

><p><em>"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."<em>

_- Anon_


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter 6 – In which Things Start to Look Up**

Jareth paced around his study, deep in thought.

After leaving Sarah in her room he had sent instructions that clothes were to be set out, food left and a bath drawn.

Why am I going to all this trouble for a mortal? And the mortal who beat my Labyrinth and spurned me at that! The memory of Sarah in the tower, her face streaked with tears and in obvious distress sprang, unbidden into his mind and an acute pain started in his chest.

Jareth muttered several oaths under his breath and commented at length at the weakness he had displayed, moving on to Sarah's audacity at still having any kind of hold over him. Though his ego had no intention of showing any such hold existed.

_Well, I brought her here. That's all she asked for. I don't have to have anything more to do with the stubborn girl, _He decided with a certain amount of satisfaction.

Unable to withstand the temptation any longer, Jareth conjured a crystal to look in on his unexpected houseguest. She was awake and had evidently washed and changed and was currently looking around her room with interest.

_She still has that look, _he noticed with a pang, _like she knows she's going to be stabbed in the back and there's nothing she can do to stop it._

The Goblin Kings' musings were cut short by a guard stumbling into the room.

"Your Majesty! The girl! She's _inside the castle_!" It stuttered.

"Yes," replied Jareth, his eyes drifting back to the crystal, "I know."

"But Sire, we didn't even know she was back in the Underground, in the kingdom, in the Labyrinth. We couldn't stop her Sire..." it continued to gibber.

Jareth sighed tiredly, and spoke very slowly without looking up from his divination, "I know she's in the castle. I brought her to the castle. She wanted to come here."

"…I…we…Oh!" The goblins eyes widened as his kings words sank home, "I see," Jareth suspected that was a lie, but let it go, " Sorry Sire, I'll just…" the goblin gestured towards the door, then ran from the room with much clattering as it did so.

"And soldier?" Called Jareth, he couldn't remember the names of all his guards, so found it easier to address them by rank. If he could remember even that.

The goblin in question poked his head around the door apprehensively, "Yes Your Majesty?"

"You didn't knock." With those words, a look of fear crossed the guards face as Jareth conjured a second crystal. This crystal was not clear however. It contained a very small, very violent thunderstorm.

The goblin bolted from the room, followed by the sphere-contained storm, which sent tiny lightning bolts at him as it went. It wouldn't hurt him, just chase him around the castle for half an hour or so, giving severe static-electric shocks.

_Maybe they will learn to knock now, _thought Jareth with a chuckle as another yelp of surprise echoed down the corridor and through the door that had been left open in the guards haste to escape. With a flicker of a thought, Jareth directed a shred of magic to close the door and returned to his observations of the young woman who had so abruptly re-entered his life.

* * *

><p>Sarah had explored every corner of the room with interest. Last time she had only seen a few corridors, the throne room and the room that was like one of M.C. Escher's paintings gone mad.<p>

No cupboard or drawer had been left un-rummaged.

After her initial awe at the sheer size of the place Sarah realised that everything in there was there with her in mind. All the clothes were her size and in colours and styles she would have chosen to wear.

_Well, mostly anyway. _ She thought, a few especially frivolous outfits sprang to mind. Though there was a definite medieval theme to the wardrobe.

Her favourite perfume was on the rosewood dressing table along with make-up to suit her colouring. The bathing products in the en-suit were all suited to her. A flower-filled vase stood on one windowsill and a huge, comfortable looking window seat took up the bay window. Paintings by her favourite artist dotted the walls in period silver frames that matched her dressing table mirror.

There was also a sitting-room with a large fireplace and various trinkets littering the shelves and tables.

The rooms were wonderful. It was just…there was nothing to do.

After taking in the view from both windows, overlooking the city and Labyrinth, and the balcony with a small private garden under it, for the best part of an hour, Sarah decided that being on her own really wasn't a good idea at the moment. So she finally plucked up the courage to leave her room.

The corridor outside her room was deserted.

_Now, do I go left…or right?_ Sarah pondered.

Deciding that left was towards the city, and therefore the most logical choice, she started down the cold stone passageway, ignoring the way her footsteps echoed ominously around her.

After a good twenty minutes of twists and turns, she was well and truly lost. Sarah privately suspected that the castle itself was part of the Labyrinth.

_I couldn't even get back to my rooms now._ She thought with a certain degree of resignation. So she sighed and carried on walking.

Another five minutes or so of aimless wandering, to her immense relief, Sarah heard a familiar voice.

"Nay, good sir. The purpose of the task lies in the benefit to the kingdom and the honour associated with such a noble deed."

"Sir Didymus!" called Sarah.

"Lady Sarah?" Came the disembodied voice of Sir Didymus, "Didst thou call?"

"Yes, where are you?" she replied, "I'm a bit lost," the admission came with a flush of embarrassment.

"Fear not, fair maiden! I, Sir Didymus, shall come to thy aid!" declared the tiny knight grandly. Sarah smiled her first real smile in years as her chivalrous friend came into view at the end of the corridor, followed by Ambrosias.

"My Lady, thy absence did leave an unbearable sadness in my heart and a relentless chill in my bones. Truly, the world hath been a dark and cruel place since thy departure."

"I missed you too," she replied, kneeling to embrace him, and receiving a very wet tongue across her cheek from Ambrosias.

Sarah felt amusement bubbling up inside her as Sir Didymus scolded the shaggy sheep dog, declaring that such behaviour was not suitable for a noble steed, nor should a Lady be drooled upon.

"It's alright Sir Didymus," Sarah interrupted his admonishments, "Nice to see you too Ambrosias.

"Now, good Sir Knight," said Sarah, lapsing into Didymus' archaic speech pattern, "Would thou do me the honour of escorting me to our good friends, Sir Ludo and Sir Hoggle?"

The pint-sized knight drew himself up proudly, "My Lady, the honour would be mine."

* * *

><p><em>"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved..."<em>

_- George Sand_


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter 7 – In Which a Reunion Takes Place**

"Sir Didymus, how much further is it? Asked Sarah, trying to keep up with her small friend.

"My Brother in Arms made his home yonder, Milady."

Sarah continued to stumble over the rocks and branches that littered the uneven forest floor until they reached a wide, jagged cave mouth.

"Brother Ludo, we entreat upon thee to allow us entry to thy noble home," Called the knight.

A large fury head appeared in the fissure, "Sarah?" asked Ludo in disbelief as she stumbled into the clearing.

"Yeah, Ludo, I'm back!"

"Sarah back? Friend Sarah back!" with that the mammoth orange beast lumbered over and picked her up in a hug that squeezed the breath from her, "Friend Sarah not go away again," declared Ludo, as if sheer will power would make it so.

"I hope so," replied Sarah sadly when she caught her breath.

"May we enter, Sir Ludo?" enquired Sir Didymus again.

"Friends come," invited the orange giant as he trudged back into the cave and busied himself filling a metal pitcher from the spring at the back of the cave.

"Wow, Ludo, this is beautiful," observed Sarah with awe as she took in the caves interior. The walls were clear crystal with pale blue vanes running through them. Light from the setting sun reflected through the clear stone, fracturing into undulating rainbows that danced to the music of the small, tinkling stream.

"Sure," said Ludo with a shrug, "rocks friends."

Sarah smiled at his attitude. _It's as if all rocks give him his private Aurora Borealis. Come to think of it, maybe this is how he sees all rocks…_

Around the cave lay various implements. One corner, which appeared to be a kitchen had the new fire laid in a shallow pit and wooden plates, bowls and spoons stacked neatly in a set of shelves calved into the iridescent walls. There was a table made from plain stone and covered with a simple cloth in the middle of the room, surrounded by four wooden stools and a huge, comfy looking palette along one wall.

"My Lady, wherefore didst thou cease to call upon us?" asked Sir Didymus as he sat at the table, accepting the water-filled wooden cup from Ludo. It was obvious that he had wanted to ask since their meeting at the castle, but had refrained until the completion of the task she had laid upon him.

"Yeah, why Sarah not call?" seconded their host, placing Sarah's cup on the table.

Sarah was taken aback: "But I did call. I thought you stopped answering," she replied, recalling the day she had given up and thought herself truly alone.

"Magic's going. That'll be it," grunted a voice from the entrance.

"Hoggle!" said Sarah in delight as her absent friend ambled in without an invitation.

"You've chosen quite a time to come back, ya' know," he stated in his most disinterested, know-it-all voice before Sarah lifted him off his feet in a hug similar to the one she had received from Ludo moments earlier. "Put me down!" demanded Hoggle, looking embarrassed at the display of affection.

"Pray, Friend Hoggle, explain to Lady Sarah thy meaning, for I must bow to thy superior knowledge of such events," encouraged Sir Didymus. Ludo said nothing, but looked sad and poured another cup of water for his latest guest.

Hoggle straightened the same dirty shirt he had worn on the day she had first seen him outside the Labyrinth as he recovered from the unexpected greeting. "The Aboveground," he replied slurping noisily at his cup, "all that teck-nol-oh-jee. Blocks the magic it does."

Sarah looked at him surprised, "really?"

"You mean you didn't notice? The more teck-nol-oh-jee you humans make, the less you lot believe in anything your gizmos can't prove. The less belief, the less magic up there."

"Need magic," mourned Ludo.

"Indeed, Brother," Sir Didymus agreed.

"Anyway," continued Hoggle, "With all that teck-nol-oh-jee interfering with the magic, hardly any calls get down here. The human calling has to be really scared or angry or sometimes really happy, but that one's a rarity."

_Well that would explain how Jareth heard me that time, _thought Sarah.

"We hear fewer calls, so fewer humans get wished down here. Every time a human gets wished away, doesn't matter if they stay here or not, more of us are made." Hoggle continued as Sarah began to look confused, "we exist because you _believe_ we exist. We were created from _your _imagination. But the Labyrinth changed you. No one, not even Jareth knows why, but now your imagination doesn't work for us any more. But then you're the only one who's come back, so maybe that's it."

"Oh," said Sarah, processing all the information and trying to catch on _but why did Jareth let me come back if my imagination doesn't work that way any more?_ "is that why the castle was so empty?"

"Partly, Milady," chimed Sir Didymus,

"Please, just 'Sarah', we're friends."

Sir Didymus gave a slight bow of acceptance before continuing: "I fear a more sinister reason is the cause of the substantial decline in the goblin population.

"Approximately two years ago, the Dwarf King took exception the actions of a young goblin: a fool hardy youth who took it upon himself to act as an emissary. He travelled to the realm of Sir Hoggles' brethren, with a gift, in the hopes of establishing an amicable relationship between the two kingdoms."

"Stupid creature," muttered Hoggle angrily.

"Unfortunately," continued Sir Didymus, "When the young goblin presented the jewel, which he believed to be of a most rare and desirable nature, it was discovered to be…well…"

"It was a fake!" Hoggle interrupted the knights' eloquent anecdote, "a common rock with a two-a-penny enchantment on it. Any dwarf worth his name would be able to see through it," he spat angrily.

"Quite so, Friend Hoggle," agreed Sir Didymus, "And as thou didst informed His Majesty upon the … return… of the self-appointed emissary and the 'gift', to do such a thing in dwarf custom is an insult of the gravest nature and a sign of immense disrespect."

"Disrespect?" spluttered Hoggle, "That goblin might as well have danced around the throne room in the Queens underwear before pissing in the Kings goblet and forcing him to drink it!"

Hoggle continued to mutter obscenities under his breath as he stomped around Ludos' cave.

Sir Didymus gave an apologetic cough, "Since that day, His Majesty has been attempting to rectify the damage caused, but has been unable to do so. The dwarves have sent numerous raiding parties into our fair homeland. There is fear that war is inevitable."

Sarah opened and closed her mouth several times in a shocked attempt to voice the many thoughts whirling around her head at the apocalyptic declaration.

"And with fewer humans coming down here, you can't make up the loss in lives," she finally said, ending her goldfish impression then grimaced at her own words: "that sounded so cold," she muttered gloomily.

"Indeed, Friend Sarah, the situation itself is harsh," replied Sir Didymus sadly.

* * *

><p><em>"It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell."<em>

_- William Tecumseh Sherman_


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter 8 – In Which the Full Extent of the 'Dwarf Problem' is Revealed **

Jareth had watched with interest as the dwarf – Hogwart? – Higgle? – And the Knight had explained to Sarah, the political and supernatural state of his kingdom. And Sarah's reaction had not been the one he had anticipated. Rather than tears – _more tears_ – and demands to be sent home, she had wrung every drop of information out of her friends.

His thoughts were cut short by a tentative knock at the door. For a moment it didn't register that the creature on the other side was waiting for a reply. _Has it really been that long since someone knocked before bursting in?_

"Enter," commanded the Goblin King, dismissing his incredulity, as two guards marched smartly into the room carrying a chest plain between them. _This, _he thought, _does not look promising._

"Put it there," he indicated to the stone hearth before dismissing the patiently waiting soldiers. News had obviously travelled quickly as to the fate of the goblin that was currently recovering from his extended run in the barrack, discharging the excess electricity on anyone that walked too close. The goblins discovered two things that day: never enter the Kings rooms without an invitation; and that armour is a wonderful conductor of electricity.

Once the guards were safely outside and the door closed, Jareth opened the ominous looking chest. The scent of rotting meat uncoiled itself lethargically from its resting place and swiftly engulfed the room, forcing Jareth to hold a cloth to his face in order to inspect the contents.

Though normally such a task would be beneath him, he gingerly began to dig through the putrid flesh enclosed in the box, the sodden globs of meat clung to his hands, every texture unmistakable through the thin leather of his gloves. It wasn't until he came across a gold signet ring, half buried in the congealed blood at the bottom, that he was sure. His messenger had been returned in the same state as the last.

After disposing of the remains, bathing and changing into the more suitable clothes of medieval shirt of fine black cotton, trimmed with silver, with leather trousers and knee high boots, The Goblin King instructed the soldiers to send for his Captain of the Guards and various other members of his government.

* * *

><p>Upon her return from her visit to Ludos cave; Sarah had spent several hours pacing her room, trying to find the solutions to several questions, which her friends hadn't been able to answer.<p>

Firstly, how much was being hidden from them? There were just too many gaps in her friends' knowledge for it to simply have slipped their minds.

Secondly, why had Jareth let her come back if he wasn't going to gain anything from her return? Surely, she would be a hindrance given the state of things.

Thirdly, was this the reason that she hadn't seen or heard from Jareth since his appearance in the Aboveground?

And finally, could she do anything to stop the destruction of the last safe place in her life? Instead of despair at the situation, Sarah was struck by an unmistakable rage. _How dare the king of the dwarves come to my home and try to tear it apart!_ Thundered the part of her that she thought had died long ago. _My home? Did I really just think that? I've been here for all of a day; I can't consider it my home!_

Sarah, cut off her internal monologue, dragging her attention back to the current problem: There was only one person who could answer her questions but so far, he had proved elusive.

_It's almost like he's avoiding me,_ she thought.

Sarah gazed out across the shadow-cloaked city, only the pinpricks of distant watch fires to accent the pale stars, giving up on finding Jareth for the night she changed out of her simple archaic dress and into her sleeping attire.

As she fell asleep in the large four-poster bed, Sarah couldn't help wondering if maybe this whole thing were some how her fault.

* * *

><p>It was well into the early hours before Jareth was left to contemplate the fate of the Goblin City in solitude; still no closer to an answer than he had been that morning. The fear that had plagued him for the past two years had finally become an inevitability. War was the only option left, besides surrender. Jareth shuddered at the thought of the Goblin Kingdom and his Labyrinth in the hands of a tyrannical Dwarf King, the images of destruction and carnage danced in front of his unseeing eyes.<p>

All his attempts to negotiate had resulted the 'return' of his messengers in the same state as the goblin that had begun the nightmare currently threatening his home. If his subjects discovered just how brutally the messengers had been murdered the detrimental effect on moral alone could destroy all hope of survival.

The preliminary raids by dwarf scouts felled devastating amounts of his soldiers, which were usually left in bloody piles by the roads as warnings not to stray further or suffer the same fate. Goblins were formidable in one-on-one combat and could take on beasts five times their size and come out unscathed, but when forced to act as a unit they were a joke, more inclined to try and out-fight each other than help their comrades. This cold fact had reduced his army to a fraction of its original size. The outlook for any war was not promising.

_I can't lead them to battle,_ he thought, _they couldn't win if their lives depended on it. Which it does._ Jareth stared at his desk as his head filled with more mental pictures of his home in ruins and despair came over him.

Unable to rest, despite the hour, he began to pace his study. Back and forth until the room was spinning of its own accord, obliging him to sit down lest he fall. As he resumed his seat at the desk, his eyes fell upon the copy of his book that Sarah had given him only a day ago, when she had begged for sanctuary. _Not quite the haven you were expecting, Sarah?_ He asked her silently,_ She certainly has changed,_ he continued to muse as he leafed through the worn pages, stopping occasionally to read a passage or an annotation crammed into the border.

He could see that some were older than others. The older ones were almost like stage directions, directing the pitch and volume at which particular phrases were to be recited. However, the more recent ones commented on the symbolism of events, tasks and people. Jareth read one note near the Wise Mans advice:

The hat is his alter ego, saying the things he would like to, but his task prevents him from voicing. Inner Child?

He smiled at that and continued through to the end, where the heroin says the final words and returns to the human world.

Jareth was surprised to see there were inky tearstains dotted over the pages, but no new notes. Puzzled, he drew up a trickle of magic and sent it into the paper as a query: **What was she thinking? / Why was she crying?**

The answer came sluggishly to the surface, as if unwilling to show itself. A translucent red mist formed above the page, before shaping itself into words. **Would it really have been so bad to stay there? At least I would be with my friends / Hoggle / Ludo / Jareth / Sir Didymus.**

The hopeless regret of those words struck the proud Goblin King instantly, followed immediately by amazement that she had thought of him in the same way she thought of her friends: as something precious that she had misguidedly given up.

With barely a thought, Jareth conjured a crystal that showed a sleeping Sarah, her hair spread across her pillow and a slight frown on her face as if her dreams were not pleasant. Instinctively he sent a spell of reassurance to her and a tension he hadn't noticed left him when the crease between her eyes smoothed out and she slipped into a deeper and more relaxed sleep.

Jareth pushed the slumbering Sarah from his mind with the aid of his bristling ego and dispersed the bauble with half a thought. _It's a shame she can't create more goblins any longer, _he thought before he focused on the impending invasion.

Resigning himself to a sleepless night, King Jareth of the Goblins began calculating for a hopeless war.

* * *

><p><em>"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."<em>

_- James Baldwin_


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter 9 – In Which Sarah Finds Jareth**

After almost two weeks of searching, the castle was bigger than she had thought possible, Sarah finally discovered Jareth's hiding place. The door was open and he was standing by one of the windows, looking into his crystal wearing his customary black lace-up shirt and leather trousers with his usual knee high boots. Sarah stood in the doorway watching him.

"I was wondering when you would find me," He commented without turning around, "it appears that nowhere is safe."

Sarah was puzzled, "How did you know it was me?" she asked walking into what looked like a medieval office, her dress swishing in the breeze blowing through the open window off the forest to the south.

Jareth held up his had with the crystal in it, in answer, with a smug smile on his face.

"Ok, that's a bit creepy," replied Sarah catching on.

"Sarah, you are welcome to visit me," _No she's not!_ Pricked his pride, "However, I am very busy at the moment. I'm sure that your knight and the dwarf, Hogbrain -"

"- Hoggle," Corrected Sarah with a smile.

"– yes, him, - I'm sure they told you of the current situation."

"Yes, they did," she replied, "That's why… that is…"

_She is stuttering again, _noted Jareth before being distracted by the bauble on his desk, which contained a tiny image of the Castle and Labyrinth and was rapidly flashing from day to night. It floated to hover in front of him and he began to swear before noticing Sarah's confusion.

"It's an alarm of sorts," he explained, "It means that someone has been wished to the Underground. Damn it, I don't have time for this," He muttered to himself, running his hand through his loose hair in frustration.

"But… won't this help? Someone to imagine all kinds of new goblins and creatures for the Labyrinth to replace the ones who were killed. Isn't this good?"

Jareth sighed tiredly; _I seem to be doing a lot of that lately,_ "Normally, yes. However I have too much to do right now to keep an eye on some mortal wandering around in my Labyrinth." He gestured towards the desk with papers scattered untidily over its surface.

Sarah looked at him;_ he seems so tired, like he hasn't rested in a lifetime._

"Well, I can't do much, but I can keep an eye on them," she offered.

Jareths head jerked up in surprise and he looked at her.

"What?" asked Sarah suspiciously as he continued to stare at her.

"It is possible," he said, choosing his words carefully, "for a mortal to have a certain degree of command over magic for a short time with the aid of a certain…potion, for lack of a better term. So long as the elixir remained in your system, you would be able to take my place for this mortal's journey."

It was Sarah who now looked surprised. "Ok," she said just as carefully, "if I did this," she waved her hand at the patiently waiting bauble, "would I have to do it alone?

"I would be able to give you a certain measure of guidance; however, once you begin, you _must_ see it through to the end. My influence must be minimal and I must not be seen by the mortal." He was watching her carefully, gauging her reaction.

* * *

><p>Sarah took a breath to steady herself, <em>Well, I wanted to help,<em> "Alright. What exactly is this potion I have to drink?"

Jareth went to a cupboard in one corner and took out several bottles and a chalice, cleared a space on his desk and mixed the contents in the silver goblet in front of him before waving his had dramatically over the concoction and muttering something inaudible under his breath. The mixture erupted into a spectacular smoky display before clearing into a clear pale pink.

Jareth handed her the chalice wordlessly and Sarah looked at the contents for a moment before drinking it in one go. "You need to work on the flavor," she commented when she had drained the cup, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

Jareth smiled, "If it tasted pleasant everyone would be drinking it. Magic would be turned on its head by mortals using it with no regard for the consequences. Let us have a look at the person who would wish away a loved one," he continued, "to summon a crystal, imagine that it already exists, it has been in your hand all along but until now you have ignored it."

Sarah tried to do as directed with no success. She scowled at her hand as if it were doing it on purpose.

"It is the belief that the crystal will appear that makes it so. Watch, I will show you."

Sure enough, a smooth crystal that fit into her hand perfectly appeared.

"How did you do that so easily?" she demanded in frustration.

"I did nothing but encourage you're belief that the crystal would appear. You were the one who made it so," he replied smirking again.

Sarah looked even more frustrated and a little confused, "So you lied to me?"

"Well, yes," he replied, embarrassed at being seen through so easily, "but you didn't believe you could do it, but you _did_ believe that I could. I had to circumvent your disbelief."

Sarah wasn't completely convinced by that but let it go, "So to see the person who did the 'wishing away' all I have to do is believe the crystal will do as I say?" she asked, Jareth nodded once.

_Ok, let's try this. _**Show me the person who did the 'wishing away'** she silently commanded the crystal. When she looked into its clear depths she nearly dropped her creation. Plainly depicted, as if on a concave television screen, Linda Holmes was frantically searching a little girls room.

* * *

><p><em>"We all of us need assistance. Those who sustain others themselves want to be sustained."<em>

_- Maurice Hulst_


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter 10 – In Which the Task Begins**

Jareth could see the mortal moving around the room, seeking the child she had just wished to the Underground, however his focus was on the woman in front of him. Sarah was staring into the crystal, unmoving.

_This is not just amazement that she has successfully used magic unaided_, he switched his attention back to the mortal in the crystal, _They look similar. __This…__this can't be…_

"Sarah?" he asked, attempting to draw her gaze, "Sarah, are you unwell? _Of course she's unwell_, chided the voice in his head_, how would you feel if you were in her place?_

"I…that's…she…" Sarah tried to reply.

_So it is her mother._

"Sarah, you've yet to start. You don't have to do this," he consoled her.

"No…no…it's fine. I said I would help. I can do this," Sarah's words grew stronger as she spoke and a spark of her old determination showed in her clear, green, eyes.

"Are you certain? Once you begin, you must finish it," he reminded her.

"I'm sure," she replied, finally looking him in the eye, "how do I get there?"

Jareth gave her the necessary instructions before she vanished and Jareth created his own clear orb to watch the confrontation. Sarah stood in the middle of the child's room wearing a white and silver medieval dress, which hugged her body and set off her flawless skin with a half-mask in the same colours. Her hair spilled out from behind the mask like a dark cloak.

She doesn't want to be recognised, he realised.

* * *

><p>Sarah waited for Linda to realise she was not alone for what seemed like an eternity before she gave up on being noticed and spoke. She called on her acting abilities to mimic Jareths arrogant demeanour and the safety of her mask for confidence.<p>

"You think that if you continue to search, she will reappear?" she asked coolly. Linda straightened from searching the girls' wardrobe as if she had just received an electric shock, before turning slowly, her eyes wide with a combination of fear and hope.

"Who are you? Where's my daughter?" she demanded, half accusingly, half pleading.

"You know very well where she is. After all, you have been reading her stories of the Goblin City for years," replied Sarah, tilting her head to one side as she spoke.

"So…you're...what? The Goblin Queen?" asked Linda sarcastically, obviously trying not to show how her hope was crumbling by matching Sarah's coldness.

Sarah forced herself to laugh scornfully at the suggestion, "The Goblin Queen?" she mimicked, "No, I'm…an emissary. The King is far too busy to deal with foolish mortals," Sarah calculated the affect her words were having carefully selecting the ones that would put Linda in the right state of mind to run the Labyrinth.

"So…you can't bring her back then?" begged Linda as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"What's said is said," answered Sarah harshly, "You asked that she was taken, surely a loving mother would never wish away a child who didn't deserve it."

"But I didn't mean it!" cried Linda in protest.

"Oh! You didn't?" came the rhetorical response, "Go back to your room. Practice your vocals and your lines. Forget about the child." _You've done it before with ease_, the spiteful part of her mind silently continued, _surely practice makes perfect_.

"I can't," Linda's words were soft but her mouth was set with determination and her eyes were hard as agate.

Sarah smirked, "You're no match for me Linda."

"But I have to have my daughter back," the pleading tone had crept back into her voice.

_Why is she more important than I was?_ Raged Sarah wordlessly. She sighed and pointed out of the window, "She's there, in the Goblin Kings' Castle. Do you still want to look for her?"

Linda walked over to the window as if she didn't believe that anything would be there, "The Castle beyond the Goblin City? But that's just a story…" said Linda to herself, denying the existence of what her eyes told her was real.

"Really?" Sarah's voice was heavy with sarcasm, "then you can go back to your room and your daughter will stay with the goblins," By now Sarah had transported them a quarter of a mile outside the Labyrinth to the wasteland, east of the city.

"No," refused Linda, looking at the Labyrinth, "It doesn't look that hard."

"It's harder than you think, and time waits for no one. Not even you, Linda. You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth," continued Sarah, pointing at the clock suspended in the bare tree, "Before your darling daughter becomes a goblin…for ever."

Sarah faded out while Linda puzzled over the strange clock.

* * *

><p><em>How remarkable<em>, thought Jareth, _that she could face her in such a similar confrontation with such confidence._

Sarah reappeared near the window facing the Labyrinth. She stood there, immobile, with her arms wrapped around herself, her shoulders hunched slightly as if to keep the world away. She stared out of the window in the direction of the mortal who was on the other side of the walls.

"Sarah?" Jareth walked silently over to her when she gave no sign she had heard him, "Sarah," he said again, more gently, "are you alright?"

"I…" she started without looking away from the window, as if about to say something different, then began again, "I'm fine."

She was obviously lying. Now that he was closer he could see the fine tremors running through her shoulders and the way she clutched at her arms as if trying to keep herself from flying into thousands of tiny pieces. Of its own accord, one of his hands rested on her upper arm in reassurance and he was surprised to see tears running out from beneath the mask that obscured half of her face. Sarah angrily wiped them from her cheeks.

"This is so stupid," she said, as if to herself, "I never cry. But now I've broken down twice in as many weeks."

"Crying is healthy," replied Jareth, pulling a handkerchief out of the air and handing it to her, "You don't have to bottle everything up to appear strong."

Sarah lifted her mask and wiped her eyes, "Why are you being so…nice?" she asked with a combination of confusion and suspicion.

Jareth smiled mockingly, "I can be nice," he protested.

"I guess… it's just you don't seem like the type to, I don't know, bestow royal favours and kiss babies… stuff like that," replied Sarah, looking amused at the thought.

"You have never seen a goblin baby," countered Jareth, "if you had, you would be disinclined to kiss them as well."

Sarah laughed through her tears, "What's so bad about goblin babies?"

"Well, goblins reproduce about once every century," he continued in his bantering tone, "so babies, if that's what you want to call them, are a rarity. There are three stages of development for goblins. The first is similar to an egg stage: Imagine a slimy, mucus-filled sack with a squirming, amphibious creature inside and you are as close to a goblin egg as you can get without actually seeing it."

"That doesn't sound very nice," admitted Sarah with a smile.

As Jareth continued to describe the aging process of the creatures that inhabited his kingdom Sarah gradually relaxed, distracted, he realised, by a side of him she had never seen before. Finally, when the tremors in her body had subsided and her breathing had returned calmed, he drew the mostly one-sided conversation back to the mortal currently trying to work out how to get into the Labyrinth:

"The idea of the Labyrinth is to make the mortal imagine its' way through it. Stretch their minds and make them believe the impossible," he patiently explained, "Anything that you create will vanish once the mortal has left. However, if the mortal believes that it is there and you did not use magic to influence the decision to believe it, the creation will be a permanent addition to the Labyrinth."

"So, I have to put obstacles in her way to make her imagine a solution?"

"Yes. For example, by hiding the entrance, you were forced to create the dwarf to show you the door. By changing your arrows and changing the layout to put you in a dead end, you created the doors with the riddle."

"And the certain death?" asked Sarah in mock accusation.

Jareth laughed, "That was your melodramatic streak flexing its muscles."

"Ok," Sarah concentrated for a moment and conjured another crystal to look in on the mortal who was currently attempting to open the gates, not realising that they wouldn't open unless she believed they would.

"She is still thinking logically," Explained Jareth again, "Part of her mind is telling her that the doors are far too heavy to be opened by her self. You need to help her or she will spend the entire time outside the gates, wasting her imagination on a simple task. Give her a clue." He suggested.

Sarah frowned for a moment before a broken ladder appeared directly behind the mortal, tripping her over.

"I think that your sadistic streak is showing," commented Jareth with a smile.

"Maybe," admitted Sarah, grinning back, "But she might be able to imagine something to fix it with. It's only a warm-up after all."

* * *

><p>After several hours of watching Linda struggle her way through the Labyrinth, throwing increasingly difficult obstacles in her way, Sarah glanced over at Jareth. He had returned to his desk to deal with the stack of papers once he was satisfied she could cope by her self.<p>

He looked exhausted and only will power obstinate was keeping him on his feet.

"The papers will still be there after you sleep you know," she gently informed him from her perch on the window ledge.

Jareth looked up, startled, as if he had forgotten that he wasn't alone, "They need to be dealt with," he replied wearily.

"You can't be doing a very good job of them though. If you're half as tired as you look then I'd be surprised if they make any sense at all."

"But -"

"Go and sleep, Jareth," She interrupted, "If anything big happens, I'll wake you."

Jareth gave her a look that was part mocking and part something she couldn't quite place, "This is another reason why mortals shouldn't be given control over magic. When you can, you think that you can command the Fae like common garden sprites."

Sarah smiled, "The Mighty Goblin King is allowed to sleep if he is tired," she teased, "or won't his ego allow it?"

Jareth scowled, that was predominantly why he was still there and she had seen right through it.

"Fine," he gave in less than graciously as he stood, "But the second anything requires my attention, let me know."

Sarah held up her free hand and folded down all of her fingers except the smallest, which was held out straight, "Pinkie Swear," she declared trying to be serious and failing.

_What is 'Pinkie Swear'?_ Thought Jareth. His confusion obviously translated to his face because Sarah smiled and let her hand fall back to her side.

"I promise," she said.

* * *

><p>Jareth nodded, slightly bemused by her strange phrases and left her sat beside the window as he walked into his adjacent bedchambers and closed the door. He fell onto his bed still fully clothed and was asleep in seconds.<p>

_This is what I get for going a week without sleep…_

* * *

><p><em>"Something that has always puzzled me all my life is why, when I am in special need of help, the good deed is usually done by somebody on whom I have no claim."<em>

_- William Feather_


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter 11 – In Which Sarah is Left Alone With**

**Something She Knows She Shouldn't Read **

Sarahs' eyes drifted back to the pale orb in her hand. Linda was in the hedged area of the Labyrinth but still quite a way from the castle. She was looking around, trying to decide which of the three paths would lead her to her goal and muttering under her breath. Sarah suspected that the things being said were about her and were less than flattering.

_She is taking it for granted that she's alone, _though Sarah, then with a certain amount of resignation, _I suppose it's time for another visit._

Bracing herself for another confrontation with the woman who had abandoned her, Sarah transported herself to stand directly behind Linda, her mask firmly in place.

"Still only this far?" she asked scathingly.

Linda spun on her heel, nearly falling over in surprise and her mouth dropped open as she took in the sight of what she thought was the Fae responsible for her daughters' unjust abduction.

"How did you know where I am? Demanded Linda, clearly rattled by Sarahs' appearance.

_Jareth said if she believed something without magical intervention, then it would become real, _thought Sarah as an idea came to her.

She pondered it for a moment before speaking, "The Labyrinth is full of spies. They report the location of outsiders and do everything in their power to delay intruders. That is their purpose. Don't you hear them? See their work?" She asked, carefully manipulating Linda's imagination and, as if on cue, a scraping sound and cackle came from behind them. Building on the idea, Sarah continued, "They are loyal to The Goblin King and do his bidding. They aid those that are also loyal to him. They change the layout of the Labyrinth and control the oubliettes to trap trespassers. They can do everything you can imagine and more."

"I don't believe you," lied Linda fearfully.

Sarah laughed scornfully at the feeble attempt to deny what her imagination was creating, "More fool you."

"I could do this in my sleep," Declared the mortal with a façade of confidence.

Sarah felt a stab of annoyance at the woman's arrogance, "Really," she replied maliciously," then how about we wake you up."

In her irritation, Sarah conjured the first thing that came to mind. A disgruntled snarl issued from around the corner that Linda had been contemplating, which, incidentally lead to the castle, followed by a series of bone-chilling howls. With that, a pack of wolf-lion hybrid creatures came bounding into view no more than fifty meters away. They skidded to a halt at the sight of the masked Sarah and the horrified Linda standing in the middle of the path and the pack leader bared his ivory fangs at them growling threateningly. When Linda finally shook off her astonishment, she gave a piercing scream of horror before bolting back the way she had come, also falling prey to the creatures she had just created, finding that the path had changed completely.

Sarah gave her a small head start before she magically directed the pack after her and translocated herself back to Jareths study. The creatures would never catch Linda, only chase her around the Labyrinth until she imagined a way out of the dilemma… or fell into an oubliette. Sarah chuckled sadistically at the thought. _I'm getting as bad a Jareth,_ she chided herself as she settled back onto the windowsill.

As she watched Linda twist and turn through the unrelenting Labyrinth there came a timid tap at the door. Sarah looked up and hesitated for a moment before calling to whomever, _or whatever, _was seeking entrance to come in.

A nervous goblin poked his head around the door and saw only Sarah.

"Err… documents," the goblin said, stepping into the room, "For His Majesty."

"Oh, well, put them on the desk I suppose," She replied uncertainly, "I'll make sure he gets them."

The goblin nodded silently, clearly wondering who this strange woman was and whether he should be following her orders. Sarah wavered for a moment before asking: "Is it important?"

The goblin looked thoroughly confused.

"I was just wondering whether to wake him," she explained.

The look of bewilderment lifted for a moment, "The King asked for them," the goblin replied, as if it explained everything, before standing patiently by the desk, looking at her.

_Why is he just stood there?_ Thought Sarah, beginning to panic, _Orders! He's waiting to be told what to do next._

"You can leave now," She said, trying to sound confident.

"Yes, milady," He replied and marched smartly out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Sarah alone with the bundle of parchment.

* * *

><p>Jareth walked through the ruins of his Labyrinth, the stench of blood and carrion mixing with the dense smoke ensuing from the city and the cries of dieing goblins drilling relentlessly into his head. Passing the motionless bodies of his subjects, he made his way through the ransacked city, attempting to ignore the carnage and destruction and eventually entered the castle itself.<p>

He picked his way through the pieces of broken furniture used as a barrier scattered on the cold stone floor amongst the corpses of the young and the weak, who had valiantly attempted to defend themselves in a hopeless battle.

Inescapably draw onwards, despite his protesting mind; Jareths feet carried him through the halls and corridors of his once proud castle, towards his study.

Of its own will, one of his hands raised to push open the heavy mahogany door. The normally warm wood felt cold and dead beneath his palm and the dread at what he would find inside his sanctuary knotted his stomach…

_**Tap tap tap.**_

Jareth bolted upright on his bed, eyes wide and breathing heavily. Disorientated for a moment, he was surprised to find himself in his bedchamber.

_**Tap tap tap.**_

"Enter," Commanded Jareth, attempting to shake of the fragments of dream, which clung to him like veils of spiders silk. The door opened cautiously to reveal Sarah; she stood in the doorway but didn't step into the room.

"A message has arrived for you," she explained, her voice slightly strained, "the guard said it came from one of the watch towers and that it's urgent.

"Oh," she added as an after-thought, "and some documents came too. They're both on your desk."

Jareth nodded, "I will be out shortly," he replied. He waited for her to close the door before washing, changing into similar, clean clothes and generally tidying his appearance. He drew reassurance from the familiar, mundane routine and eventually emerged to deal with the latest threat.

Sarah gave him a small smile of greeting from her seat at the window. _She seems to like it there,_ he thought dryly, attempting to distract himself from the way the setting sunlight fell on her, making her glow with the deep orange luminescence.

"How is our visitor faring?" he enquired.

"She fell into an oubliette about fifteen minutes ago," Sarah informed him, her smile turning slightly sadistic, "There _is_ a way out. If she looks at it the right way."

Jareth couldn't help laughing at that, "There is only an hour remaining," he cautioned her, "If you leave her there too long she will never complete the task in time and the girl will have to remain here."

"Ok, I'll give her a clue in a few minutes."

Jareth nodded before sitting at his desk.

The papers had been neatly organised into piles and his pens tidied near the inkpot.

_What has happened here?_

"Sarah," he asked, "Is this your doing?"

Jareth gestured at his desk with distaste when Sarah looked up and waited for her explanation.

* * *

><p>"Well," began Sarah, "You couldn't find anything. All the papers you had read were mixed in with the ones you hadn't. Then there were the ones that you read when you were so exhausted that it couldn't have made sense at the time…so I tidied up." All of this was spoken very quickly, as if she was trying to stop him from examining her intentions.<p>

With a look of the utmost innocence, Sarah returned her attention to the crystal in her hand and Jareth eventually, if somewhat suspiciously, returned to the endless task of keeping his kingdom in one piece.

The message and the documents that had arrived in the time he was resting were in the middle of his desk looking very important. With a certain amount of resignation, Jareth began to read, pausing once in a while to make a note on a piece of parchment in illegible handwriting.

Sarah watched the mortal storming around the dark oubliette, occasionally kicking something or hitting the walls in frustration and shouting obscenities at the stones. _As if that will make things any better, _Sarah wordlessly berated her. With a sigh, she put on her mask, stood and translocated herself into the stone prison.

"You really are taking your time, aren't you?" Asked Sarah, rhetorically.

"You again!" shouted Linda, "Y-y-you let me out of here!"

"Now how is getting angry going to help?" She replied, condescendingly, "You can't scare the stones into submission; they don't care who you are, or what you could have done to them."

"But you have to let me out! You can't keep me here; it's not fair!" cried Linda. She seemed close to having a complete breakdown over it.

"Life isn't fair, Linda," replied Sarah seriously, "But the Labyrinth _is_. It may be hard, it may not be as you expect and it may make you think in new ways, but it _is_ fair."

"But there's no way out," raged Linda, "How is that fair?"

"There is a way out. It is no-ones' fault but your own if you haven't seen it yet."

Linda stopped in mid-stomp and looked at Sarah in disbelief mingled with what looked like the desire to throttle her on the spot. With that, Sarah thought it prudent to leave, before Linda gave in to her desire to do violence on her, and promptly reappeared in Jareths' study.

As she materialized, Jareth looked up expectantly.

"She says 'It's not fair!'" Relayed Sarah with a smile and Jareth laughed.

* * *

><p>Things were rapidly deteriorating. The bulk of the Dwarf Army had moved across the border and was making it way towards the Goblin City, occasionally stopping to ransack a farm along the way. Refugees were already streaming towards the city from across the kingdom.<p>

Jareth sent orders to a garrison to aid the evacuation and keep the peace before turning to the document detailing mundane but essential areas such as food and housing for the refugees, weapons and various battle statistics, such as how badly outnumbered they were, and fortifications, in the event of the dwarves reaching the city.

The Goblin King sighed, _Magic forbid they should get that far_, he thought as the visions from his nightmare came back to haunt him.

* * *

><p><em>"Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell."<em>

_- Anon._


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter 12 – In which Linda Reaches the Castle**

**Beyond the Goblin City**

As Linda stumbled through the heaps of junk around the imposing city gates, she thought on what the faerie in the white dress had told her. At least, Linda assumed that she was a faerie; it wasn't very likely that she was a goblin.

_It _wasn't_ fair_, she decided. What had she done to deserve that horrendous labyrinth? But she wasn't going to let something like that stop her from getting Emily back. _I want my daughter, and I'll be damned if I'll let an arrogant figment of my over-active imagination stand in my way! I _will_ beat them._

When she finally reached the wall, she was surprised to see that the gates had been left open, as if they were inviting her in. Linda suspiciously slunk into the seemingly abandoned city. After her hellish time in the labyrinth, its' occupants changing the layout and chasing her into underground prisons, this was definitely too easy.

Ignoring the sense of foreboding gathering in the pit of her stomach, Linda crept between dilapidated houses and up crumbling stair cases towards the castle in the centre. Silently slipping from shadow to shadow to avoid detection, she felt like a character from one of her plays, not the celebrity that she was. The all-but set sun gave everything an eerie burned-sienna glow and the heat from the day began to cool.

Just as she entered the castle, Linda felt the triumph at having completed the hardest part of her task crash down to near despair. The castle was worse than that labyrinth! And it wasn't like she could ask directions, even if there was anyone, _or anything_,to ask. She was definitely on her own, but she preferred it that way. Better to be alone than to rely on others.

And so she began her laborious search, room to ceaseless room, corridor to endless corridor, as time trickled slowly by. As she reached the top levels of the castle and entered what seemed to be the throne room she heard the unmistakable sound of a child running echoing down an empty stone staircase behind the throne.

Hung on the wall opposite the throne hung the clock, Linda was sure it was another figment of her imagination; clocks just don't have thirteen hours on them. However, the more pressing matter was the mere seven minutes remaining.

Linda turned and bolted up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Sarah nervously and silently, if somewhat impatiently, paced the mirror-maze that had replaced the room she had chased Toby through all those years ago. Her mask was, again, firmly in place and a goblin under the glamour of a small girl of five years old, wearing a pretty dress with matching ribbons ran loudly through the reflective hallways in patent leather, oh-so-girly shoes. Sarah walked through the mirrors, which rippled as she passed through, and watched the ragged woman chasing the creature pretending to be her daughter.<p>

Fortifying herself for the task ahead, Sarah taunted Linda with her presence and proximity. All she saw of Sarah was a glimpse in a mirrored wall, all she heard was the whisper of Sarah's gown as she glided past, contrasted by heavy steps of the goblin.

As Linda saw the goblin-girl reflected in a mirror where her own reflection should have been, her desperation reached its peak and, with mere minutes to spare, the exhausted mortal finally gave up trying to go around the mirrors and ran directly into one of them, as if to break it.

Sarah watched the absolute terror sweeping over Linda's face as the mirror swallowed her in a way that was oddly reminiscent to walking into an upright pool of water. The reflective surface rippled slightly, then solidified, effectively trapping her inside.

Sarah stepped through the mirror and began the dance she had taken part in so long ago.

* * *

><p>Jareth felt the final stages of the quest begin. A slight rippling in the fabric of magic, almost like a breeze, that tugged at his mind. Putting his papers to one side he shifted in to his favourite alternative form of a slightly larger than average barn owl and flew into the enchanted room where the penultimate stages would take place.<p>

He soared effortlessly through the reflective corridors until he could watch the reflections of Sarah and the mortal, and perched in a decidedly unruffled manner on one of the various objects scattered along the walls.

His attempts to engross Sarah in this world by asking her to take his place in this could all come part now. It had been risky, allowing her to supervise this mortals' journey given their connection; what if she decided that she wanted to leave again? Would she think to replenish any of their waning supplies?

_Time to see if I was right._

* * *

><p>"Give me back my daughter!"<p>

"Now, Linda," chided Sarah, "Is that really what you want? Think of how much easier your life would be if you just left her here. How much of your precious time does she take up? How many of those hours could be spent refining your near-perfect career? How many times have you had to refuse a part that could have made you the best, most sought after actress of your time?"

Sarah saw the resolve in her eyes flicker for a moment and silently prayed to any god that happened to be listening that Linda wouldn't leave the symbol of Sarah's ultimate rejection in the Underground. She was afraid that the jealousy alone might drive her to be unnecessarily cruel to the girl, and it was far from the child's fault.

Something in Linda's eyes turned as hard and cold as steel.

"Now you listen to me! I've fought my way through that sodding maze out there, I've fallen into pits, I've been chased by monsters and put up with so much I can't even remember all of it! So I am at least entitled to the child you stole from me and you can't stop me from taking her. If you won't give her to me and send me home then I'll have to take her and find my own way back."

_Well_, thought Sarah, somewhat amused, _it's not word perfect, but it's all more or less there. She just needs that last phrase. Time for one last bit of subtle guidance and then she can go home._

"Really? And how do you plan to do that?" challenged Sarah, "Even if you could find her, which, in its' self is unlikely, and get out of the castle, let alone the _city_, contend with the army of ten thousand elite warriors that have just arrived to prepare for the invasion, _and_ get past the enemy army," Sarah took a beep breath to continue, "you would then have to find someone willing to disobey the Kings orders and open the way to the Aboveground. All in all, I don't think that you don't stand a chance."

Sarah hoped that there was enough truth mixed in that Linda would take the 'elite warriors' for truth.

"You may be able to control all of that, but you have no power over _me_!" Shrieked Linda.

Without warning, the mirrors cracked from side to side and dissolved. The air built up momentum and became a hurricane, almost blowing Linda off her feet. Only Sarah stood in the gale with ease, her gown whipping around her and her hair flying around her head in a way that gave her the appearance of a white clad gorgon. In the midst of the chaos, Sarah spied a pale bird perched on an antique vase in a fragment of mirror before it too vanished.

As the world fell down around them, Sarah turned her back on Linda and she walked away. The room around them mutated from a surreal nightmare to the front room of an expensive house. As she left the bewildered woman, Sarah discarded her mask, dropping it onto the floor where it fractured like glass.

Linda was dirty and ragged and kneeling on the floor in shock. The last Sarah saw of the woman was a reflection in the mirror over the fireplace as she returned to the Underground.

* * *

><p><em>The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.<em>

_- M Scott Peck_


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter 13 – In Which Jareth and Sarah Have Tea and**

**Sarah Discovers How Much She Has Changed.**

Jareths study emerged from the blur that surrounded Sarah and as the room solidified around her a sudden wave of exhaustion swept over her. Sitting down heavily into a chair that appeared as if to catch her, Sarah glanced up at the Goblin King as he looked sternly at her from his desk.

"You're angry with me," she noted in a tired but resigned tone.

"I am unsure whether to be overjoyed or livid. On one hand, you have helped provide the resources to defend us," Jareths scowl deepened, "However, the means that you employed to gain the necessary information were less than acceptable."

"I know. I'm sorry," sighed Sarah.

"I take it you read the documents while I was sleeping. That's why you rearranged the papers?"

Sarah smiled, "I couldn't remember where they were when I started. I suppose I should have known that you would find out that I knew."

"What's done is done. Just don't do it again…or you could _ask,_" Jareth forgave her, "Now, it is late and Hogget - "

" - Hoggle."

" - Has been looking for you. I suggest that you go and see him and then get some rest. You may want to consider eating too."

Sarah rubbed her eyes with the back of one hand, "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm the King; being right is one of the prerequisites. Like being regal," he replied, his voice ringing with a mocking cadence.

Sarah gave a tired snort of laughter, "Alright, I'm going," she said pulling herself laboriously to her feet and heading towards the door, "You might wants to consider sleeping and eating too, by the way. Will-power will only take you so far before you collapse and you won't look too regal in a heap on the floor."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now, go."

Sarah left the room, muttering about bossy Fae.

* * *

><p>The cool darkness of her room was soothing but, despite her best efforts, Sarah could not sleep. She lay on her spacious four-poster bed and stared at the pale blur in the shadows that was the canopy.<p>

As the dawn stained the sky and crept through the curtains, inching across the room and banishing the gloom, her thoughts calmed and she eventually drifted into a doze.

* * *

><p>Jareth was at his desk, as usual, when Sarah, clad in midnight blue, tapped on the door to his study. There were dark circles under her eyes and her smile and greeting were wan.<p>

"Sarah, you appear to be in poor health," Jareth noted, "what happened to drain you in this manner?"

"Hmm? Oh, I didn't sleep too well. Busy day yesterday, and all that jazz," she replied absently as she sat in the chair she created the previous night, propped her elbow on the curled arm of the seat and rested her chin on her open palm.

"I'm unsure what 'jazz' is but it does not appear be good for you. I think, perhaps, you should avoid this 'jazz' for a while."

"It's a figure of speech. 'And all that jazz' - It means etcetera, sort of. It's from a song. Is there anything you need help with today?"

Jareth looked at her critically, "No, I do not believe so," he replied, "Go and rest."

Sarah gave a frustrated sigh, "I can't rest," she almost snapped, "I can't shut my mind down. Every time I begin to doze my mind throws up …things… never mind: I'm being stupid and thinking about it is making me angry which doesn't help me sleep. So, is there anything you need help with?"

Jareth observed this burst of temper with the calm gaze of one used to such sudden occurrences. Her desire to communicate was being barred by her desire to protect herself, he noted as tilted his head slightly and asked: "What thoughts prevent you from sleeping?"

Sarah sat up in her chair and bit her lip for a moment with the air of one attempting to prevent herself from speaking before giving vent to what appeared to be a deluge of whirling feelings.

"At first all I could think was how much I was hurting over what Linda did and how much I resented both her and the little girl and this horrible, cold jealousy kept sloshing around in my head being obtrusive. Then, after a few hours I began to realise that what I had wanted was for Linda to recognise me, even though she had no way of knowing it was me and I kept my face covered and never told her my name or even that I was human so there was no feasible way that she could know who I was, especially when you take into account the fact that I was about ten years old when she last saw me and knew who I was.

"Well that made me think about how much I've changed since then and how I'm not the same person anymore, which made me question what I would have done if she _had _recognised me. It's not like she could turn back time and suddenly help me though my first crush, or take me shopping for make-up for the first time or any of the other things that happen around that time of a girls life. The more I though about that, the more I realised that there was no real space for her, and maybe even Dad and Karen and Toby, in my life any more, at least not in the way that I always though they should be. So I guess I'm not as angry with them now, and it's odd, but I feel better for letting go of that.

"Well _that_ made me think about my time in The Labyrinth and the things that I encountered and that throughout all of it. It took me years to realise that, no matter how bad things seemed to get, I wasn't really in danger. Well, except the cleaners, but mostly not in danger.

"That realisation and the way that I felt about Linda made me recognize that I was a brat when I was young – more so than most fifteen year olds, even when you take into account the whole 'still a child' thing – and I kept meaning to tell you that I'm sorry for that, but I could never seem to get the will-power together to do it - and in the background of all this was this strange buzzing noise that was more a feeling than a sound and it's still reverberating through me; even now. It's really strange," Sarah took a deep breath as she finished, blinked, and looked down, slightly abashed.

Jareth stared at her for a moment with his elbows resting on his desk and his fingers steepled in contemplation while he attempted to assimilate all of the information that had been communicated. This knowledge gave him a new and unexpected perspective on the wilful girl of the past and the potential woman she could be. It also raised some questions about her nature at present, "I can imagine how such introspection would cause insomnia," he empathised and paused, considering his next comments, "I think that it can only be of benefit to you to have realised that you have grown; you can focus on what you want to achieve as an adult without being distracted by the goals of your youth. Is fifteen so young, for a human? I have been under the impression that thirteen is the beginning of adulthood given the expected life-span."

Sarah nodded and leaned back in her chair again, looking at the carpet while she answered, "Two-hundred years ago, you would have been right, but humans are living longer now. The average life span is eighty, ninety – maybe even a hundred years old. Fifteen is still a child in most developed countries, although not far from adulthood. Probably eighteen to twenty-one are the most commonly referred to as the beginning of being an adult," Sarah gave a self-deprecating smile and glanced up, "It seems to be the way that the more strenuously the child insists that they are a grown-up, the more juvenile they really are."

Jareth considered this for a moment then changed the course of the conversation: "The cleaners wouldn't have caught you. You would have ducked into a hallway or fallen into another oubliette or the mechanism would have jammed. There was nothing to gain by killing you. I think you have realised by now that if I had wanted to keep your baby brother then I would not have offered you a chance to get him back and if you didn't complete my Labyrinth then I would have had to find something to do with him or someone to care for him…all in all, it's far too much trouble when that happens."

"What do you do when the child _is _left down here?"

"Usually I have the child taken back to a relative with a forged note from the parent who gave up on it saying that they don't want the child any more. It ultimately ends better that way."

"The child either stays with their family, or is given to the foster care system?"

Jareth nodded and Sarah's attention drifted towards the open window. While she stared absently at the sky, Jareth began to shift his sight. Dimly at first, then gradually brightening, Jareth began to see the threads of magic that bound his kingdom together running through the furniture and the walls and, more importantly though the figure in the chair. Jareth narrowed his eyes and intensified his concentration, attempting to differentiate between the threads that formed her clothes and those that were due to the elixir from the previous day. The glowing shape of Sarah looked at him with incandescent eyes that pulsed with pale green light.

"Why are you staring at me?" came Sarah's voice from the nimbus, causing the threads to oscillate in his altered state of awareness.

"You said that Linda believed you to be one of the Fae. Did you ever expressly say that you were one of us?" asked Jareth. The words appeared to metamorphosize into clouds of light and drift around the room as he spoke, throwing strange shadows over the walls and floor and conflicting with the luminescent shape as she shook her head, "Sarah, I want you to try something that will not make very much sense. Will you do that?" – Sarah tentatively nodded – "concentrate on the vibration you mentioned," Jareth paused and Sarah grew brighter, "now, push the into one arm, and down into your hand," most of Sarah's figure dimmed to a minor glow but her right hand became blindingly bright as she obeyed and she held it up and away from her as if is was radiating an intense heat, "Good," encouraged Jareth, "channel it out of your hand and into a shape."

"What kind of shape?" gasped Sarah, straining to control the magic attempting to burst through her fingertips.

"Any shape. Whatever you want it to be."

With that, the blazing magic erupted from her hand and transformed into hundreds of tiny dragons, each a riot of conflicting colours and no bigger than the palm of his hand. They pin-wheeled around Jareths study before each turning into vapour with a tiny detonation.

Jareth returned his sight to normal and looked around his foggy office. Sarah was staring at her hand with wild eyes. The silence was deafening.

"Did I just make dragons that vanish in a puff of smoke?" she asked in a quite but incredulous voice.

"So it would appear," replied Jareth. He thoughtfully observed the technicolour cloud sluggishly moving towards the open window and attempted to formulate his next phrase, knowing that her acceptance of it would be crucial, "It would appear," he cautiously began, "That you are now one of the Fae and part of this realm. The way that you drew upon the magic and the volume of magic that you used exceeded the potency of the remaining elixir in your blood. I can only surmise that Linda believed you to be the same species as I am and thus it is so," Jareth waited for Sarah to respond to this information.

Sarah continued to stare at her hand as if it had gained sentience for several long seconds before eventually making eye contact, "I'm Fae?" she asked in amazement.

"Does that upset you?" asked Jareth, she did not appear upset, but equally she did not appear to be happy with the prospect.

"I… I don't know. I'm just a little…overwhelmed. Everything seems to be happening all at once and the last few weeks have been – unusual, and filled with new things," she responded and rubbed at her eyes with her raised hand, apparently forgetting that it had just given vent to several hundred, miniature reptiles.

"I apologise for drawing attention to your seemingly altered state of existence in that case," Jareth replied, "However it does open avenues to alleviate your state of exhaustion which would otherwise have been closed to us. Come here," he commanded and held out one gloved hand.

Sarah peered at him quizzically over her hand before rising hesitantly to her feet and crossing the room. As she came within reach, Jareth took one hand and channelled a steady stream of energy into her depleted psyche. The circles under her eyes faded and her face became less drawn. As she reached a normal level strength Jareth slowed and stopped the flow of magic and released her hand, "Does that feel better?"

Sarah's eyes appeared glazed and she blinked as she focused on the seated Goblin King, "Yes. Much better. Thank you," She looked around the now clear room as if to distract herself from what was happening.

Jareth watched her for a moment and considered the repercussions of this alteration, before deciding on his next course of action, "Tea," he said cryptically.

Sarah looked at him, befuddled, "Tea?" she asked.

"Yes. It's a hot drink brewed from the leaves of certain plants," he explained, "Some people drink it with honey to make it sweeter."

Sarah gave him a disparaging look, "I know what tea is; I wondered why you were saying it."

"Because we are going to have tea. Now, in fact. There are things that must be discussed and a cup of tea always helps in these situations."

Sarah raised one eyebrow in parody of Jareths own expression when confronted with new concepts, "I see," she lied.

With no further debate, Jareth trans-mutated the room around them. His desk and growing pile of papers that it supported disappeared and were replaced by a table for two, complete with a teapot and matching places with a cup and saucer for the each of them. The door also vanished as the walls rippled and changed into tall, ivy-coated, garden walls.

Sarah watched all this with astonishment, "You weren't joking, were you?" she asked rhetorically and sank into the chair that had appeared opposite Jareth.

* * *

><p><em>In the end, it is the person you become, not the things you have achieved, that is the most important.<em>

_ -__Les Brown_


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter 14 – Where Lessons Begin, the Future is Discussed and Time Flies**

Sarah groaned and buried her face in her hands, "I think my brain is broken," she saidand peeked at Jareth through her fingers.

He looked at her impassively over the rim of his teacup, "I am reluctantly forced to agree; you have made that statement twelve times within the last two hours and I'm afraid that the repetition may be a symptom of an impending stroke," he replied, there was only the slightest twitch at the corner of his mouth that indicated his amusement at Sarah's dramatics.

Sarah uncovered her face and reached for her own cup, "Okay, let me just check that I've grasped this: I'm Fae now because Linda believed that I was and I didn't use magic to induce the belief. The buzzing was raw magic that is running through the kingdom and holding everything together. You lurk in the middle of this magic web like a spider."

"Fundamentally, yes. Although I do not appreciate your analogy, it is, in essence, correct. And why is it important that you learn how to use the magic?"

"Because if the magic builds up too much I could get burned up from the inside, but if I use too much I could kill myself or someone else," She recited in a singsong tone, "and if it's any consolation, you don't _look_ like a spider."

"I'm so glad," he murmured and sighed, "We will need to continue these lessons - daily. There will be more practical applications attempted when you are proficient with the rudiments but until then," Jareth leaned forward, "No experimenting on your own. I don't want to find that you've tried to channel too much magic and evaporated, or that you've pulled on threads that should be left alone and destroyed something. If I am with you then I can intervene when there is a danger, but no one else in this kingdom can."

Sarah nodded her understanding, "No playing. I get it," she paused, then asked: "If there are going to be magic lessons every day then do you want me to help with the ever-growing piles of paper on your desk? Maybe with the two of us, we can keep on top of it and still have time for lessons and you'll know that I'm not off playing with magic."

Jareth considered this. On the one hand, Sarah's aid would ensure that all possibilities were considered in the early stages of preparation for the coming battle. On the other, as much as she had changed, a part of Jareth still clung on to the bitterness of the past caused by the actions of what he now understood to be a scared and angry child. Jareth watched her examine the contents of her teacup with false nonchalance; she was trying to make up for past slights and repay his consideration, he realised.

Ignoring the paranoid voice in his mind, Jareth agreed, "Very well. After breakfast tomorrow, you can help me with the preparations. We will work on your skills in the evening. For today, however, you should rest. The energy I gave you earlier will not sustain you for long and it is not a genuine replacement for true respite."

Upon their return to Jareth's study, Sarah left to spend time with Hogwash, the noisy knight and the orange monster, and Jareth began to read though the documents that had arrived since his departure.

It appeared that Linda was incapable of comprehending ten thousand goblins, because the latest total came to over seventeen thousand and there were more new arrivals still to be registered. Normal this would have caused problems with accommodation and food supplies, but with the depleted numbers of troops, there was plenty of space in the barracks and Linda appeared to have a very practical mind, given that the food warehouses began to bulge with more food that the city could cope with the same time that the barracks had filled to capacity and beyond.

This stoke of luck was unprecedented. Not only did they now have the means to defend themselves, there would no longer be a food shortage, and there were still resources left over for the refugees that streamed into the capital every day.

Jareth collected all the documents relating to domestic affairs and put them on a newly created desk close to the window for Sarah to deal with. There appeared to be no immediate problems in that area and she would need something to do tomorrow.

With that particular task effectively delegated, Jareth turned his attention to the incoming information from his new spies and the reports from his generals regarding potential battlefields.

* * *

><p>Sarah wandered through the now familiar corridors of the castle towards the forest gate. As the grasped the depth of her alteration, she realised that she wasn't upset by it, if anything, she felt more at peace than ever before and the buzzing that she had found so disturbing was becoming as comfortable as breathing.<p>

Sarah stepped into the clearing where Ludo's cave was and was pleased to find that Didymus, Ambrosious and Hoggle were there as well. The called out a greeting to her and moved around to allow her space to sit.

Didymus spoke first: "Sir Hoggle was informing us of the events that transpired on the previous morn. Art thou well? Had I known that such events were to occur, I would have confronted the foul villain and –"

" – I'm fine, thank you, Didymus," interrupted Sarah, before the pint-sized knight could go into too much detail regarding his intended actions, "Actually, there are some things that the three of you should know about yesterday."

Ludo had been looking at her strangely since her arrival and when Sarah paused to draw a breath, he pointed at her: "Sarah magic. Sarah sparkle," he said.

Sarah blinked in surprise, "Actually, yes. Linda thought I was Fae so now I am and I have to do magic lessons so I don't blow myself up, or anything like that. So I can still have breakfast with you all in the mornings but then I promised Jareth that I would help him with some things so that he can teach me magic in the evenings. I think it's going to keep going like that until either I've got the hang of magic, or the war is over."

Hoggle, who had been silent throughout Sarah's news, final spoke; "Well, now you've gone and done it. Now, you're stuck with us. Part of the kingdom…what made you want to be one of Jareths subjects anyway? Silly idea if you ask me."

Sarah hesitated, one of Jareths subjects? She hadn't thought of it that way. But he hadn't treated her like she was inferior, he'd just been his usual, bossy, self, "I think he has always treated me like I was one of his subjects, his behaviour hasn't changed," she replied.

"Figures," grunted Hoggle.

With that, the conversation turned to other topics and Sarah, Hoggle, Ludo and Didymus spent an enjoyable day, ignoring the impending war and all the associated troubles. Ambrosious didn't contribute very much in the way of conversation, but he rarely did.

* * *

><p>As time passed and Jareth and Sarah became more comfortable in their routine, Jareth was surprised at Sarah's rapid progression in proficiency when wielding magic and with the depth of the friendship that they began to share. He found himself looking forward to the day with her, even though he was required to be at his desk for most of it. As he dwelled on that thought, he realised that, with the exception of the lunches that they shared in the garden and the trips into the forest while he was teaching Sarah to use her magic, he had not been outside in several months. On the other hand, with Sarah's aid, he not only managed to get all the necessary work done to help with her lessons; it also meant that he had been able to sleep every night without others suffering due to it.<p>

He was working on the various logistical problems usually encountered during mobilising an army; Jareth glanced at Sarah at her desk. She was engrossed in some kind of calculation and was mumbling numbers under her breath as she scribbled notes frantically on a piece of parchment. She was also scowling at the numbers in frustration.

"It is time for a respite," he declared.

Sarah looked up in surprise, "Is it lunch time already?" she asked.

"No, however I have realised how long it has been since I had a day off. It has been too long and there is nothing pressing here. Predominantly I am waiting for reports from some scouts and I believe that you are awaiting information as well," he replied, "We are going to have some time off."

"I see," said Sarah, laying down her quill pen "What do you want to do on this day off?"

Jareth considered for a moment: " Well, we cannot go hunting or hawking for the time being – there are too many reports of Dwarven scouting parties in the hunting grounds to risk becoming separated – nevertheless would you like to learn archery?"

Sarah looked surprised for a moment, "As in 'bow and arrow' archery?"

Jareth smiled at this reaction, "Unless you would rather learn sword-play," he paused to consider this, "actually, I believe that learning both would be prudent given the current political climate."

"Um, Ok?" Sarah looked perplexed at this sudden change in activity; "I should go and change into something that doesn't involve several metres of fabric hanging around my legs then."

Jareth considered this for a moment, "If you intend to wear dresses most of the time then learning to use a sword while wearing them would be more appropriate; an enemy will not wait for you to change your clothes when he attacks you."

A short time later Jareth watched an increasingly irate Sarah attempt to murder the archery target. With each failed attempt to hit the large wooden circle at all, she would glare at it as if it was sentient and was by some unknown means deflecting her arrows out of spite. Another arrow went skittering across the cobbles, deflected by the edge of the target and Sarah bit down on her lip, suppressing what Jareth suspected were some very unladylike words.

Sarah narrowed her eyes at her target as she concentrated on her aim and released another arrow. It flew majestically through the air and embedded it's self in the courtyard wall to the right of the target along side several dozen of its companions. Jareth smiled at her sigh of exasperation.

"Hold your bow steady until the arrow has left it. Draw your arrow again," he commanded as he ignored the irritated look that she threw at him and stepped behind her, mimicking her stance so they were both turned at a right angle to the target.

"Your arms must remain stationary," He instructed as Sarah aimed at the target several yards away. Jareth lifted her elbow to correct her line of sight and placed a restraining hand on the wrist that she held the bow with, "Now: release."

The arrow hit the target with a dull thunk a few inches from the centre and Sarah grinned in triumph, "There now," Jareth smiled, "That wasn't so gruelling, was it?"

"Less mockery, thank you," sassed Sarah, still smiling from her victory against the target, "I've never held a bow before so you're lucky I had the faintest idea how to grip the thing."

Jareth gave a low chuckle at this and corrected Sarah's next attempt to aim in the same manner. She was learning fast and in a relatively short amount of time she was consistently hitting the target without assistance.

"Enough for now. I think we shall have lunch, and then we will move on to the sword," he stated.

* * *

><p>Time in the Underground passed, as it is prone to do, even there. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months until almost two years elapsed since Sarah's arrival. Over this time, as Sarah and Jareth grew closer and Sarah became increasingly proficient in use of magic, swords and bows, the Dwarven army approached.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Time goes by so fast; people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you. <em>

_- Anon_


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter 15 – The March of the Goblin Army**

The supply wagons were packed. The cavalry, such as it was, was mounted. The infantry was assembled. The Goblin King was in his rooms, looking at his armour.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Sarah's voice came from the open door behind him.

Jareth turned and looked in her direction. She was leaning against the doorframe watching him, dressed in her customary Pre-Raphaelite dress, today in crimson, with her short sword attached to a wide leather belt that would have looked out of place in any renaissance painting but still managed to look graceful and accentuated her small waist.

Jareth smiled "If you could make this entire situation disappear I would be eternally in your debt," he replied as she entered the room and he finished turning so they were face to face. Jareth looked down at her, even in heels she still only reached his chin, "However, I suspect that if you could do that the you would have done so already."

Sarah looked up at him and returned his smile a little sadly, "Yes." She looked away and shut her eyes against the unhappiness he could see building inside her. Jareth rested one hand on her shoulder in a familiar gesture of comfort and resisted the urge to wrap her in his arms. Sarah shifted imperceptibly to lean into his hand and when she looked at him again the feelings had been put aside and there was a façade of calm in its place.

"I would be grateful if you could help me don the horrendously uncomfortable outfit in the corner there," Jareth gestured to the plate armour on it's stand behind him, "It seems to be designed to be challenging to put on without assistance."

Sarah nodded her compliance and Jareth directed her as to which pieces to help him with first. He could have used magic to telekinetically tighten the straps on the plate and the ties on the padded under-garments himself, but Sarah's presence was a comfort and the excuse kept her close for a while longer.

When they were finished, Jareth inspected his reflection, "How do I look?" he asked, striking a heroic pose and attempting to lighten the mood.

Sarah smiled, for a moment appearing to forget the grim task at hand as her eye lit up with laughter. She considered for a moment and pursed her lips thoughtfully, then met his gaze with a teasing look: "Like an iron-works that has sprouted legs."

Jareth gave a mock growl and scowled at her, "The lack of respect you show your king is bordering on treasonous," he told her in jest as he stalked towards her, "You should be far more courteous."

"The last thing you need is more people fawning over you," she countered, still smiling, "If you had any more then your head would not fit into your helmet, it would be so immense. Find someone else to stroke your ego."

Jareth suppressed his own laughter at that and glared, "Just for that comment, I will hold you responsible for the state of the city upon my return. Perhaps having that to keep you occupied while I am away will keep you engaged in something other than inventing new disrespectful comments and you will be properly deferential upon my return."

Sarah continued to smile, but a shadow passed behind her eyes at the reminder of the coming battle, "I'll do my best, but you should know that I'm amazing at multi-tasking. Maybe you'll get a well-kept city _and_ some new, ego deflating, comments," Sarah paused and glanced away, as if debating how to phrase her next comment. When she looked back, there was a mask of joviality almost, but not quite, hiding her concern, "I've already told Hoggle and Ludo this, so it's your turn: Try to come back in one piece, I'll be very upset with you if parts are missing."

Jareth met her eyes and matched her jovial expression while replacing his hand on her shoulder and rubbing her upper arm in comfort, "I shall do everything in my power to make sure that I do."

They stood for a moment; close, but not improperly so. The moment stretched as Jareth attempted to find the words to express himself and Sarah looked at him wistfully.

"Your Majesty!" Sir Didymus said. Sarah and Jareth both started and Jareth dropped his hand to his side as they looked towards the doorway, "There seems to have been some form of error," he continued, as he appeared at the door, oblivious the murderous look that the Goblin King was directing at him, "The generals are under the impression that I am not to be included in the cavalry! I have told them repeatedly that there must be some miscalculation; that thou would never prevent me from taking part in this glorious battle - "

"- They are correct," snapped Jareth, interrupting Didymus, "Surely you do not expect me to - "

" – Leave the castle undefended," Sarah cut Jareth off with a meaningful look, "and leave me without protection?"

Didymus considered this, "Ah! Of course! Fear not, friend Sarah, for I swear to keep all harm from thee," he cried as he stalked out of the room, in search of what Jareth presumed was some danger that he could keep at bay.

"How do you cope with him?" Jareth murmured to her, so that the tiny knight would not overhear.

"Didymus is wonderful, you just have to know how to phrase things," she replied.

Jareth looked at her for a moment, "I need to leave now," he said, superfluously. Sarah nodded and he squeezed her hand once before turning resolutely and walking from the room.

* * *

><p>Sarah watched the army leave from her window, unwilling to go down to the courtyard due to her whirling emotions. Jareths deep blue cloak billowed dramatically in the wind and the morning sunlight blazed off his armour at the head of the column until he crested a hill beyond the city limits and disappeared from sight.<p>

Sarah moved to her sitting room and made herself some tea, a habit that had formed over the last two years. She sat and stared into the fire, sipping from her teacup as she formulated her plans. Once she was happy with them, she went to the study and sat at her desk and began to draw up several lists, methodically noting every part of her strategy.

Part of the way though this, Didymus came in: "There thou art!" her exclaimed.

"Hello Didymus," replied Sarah as she glanced up at him, "I wonder if you could do me a favour?" she asked.

"For thee? Anything!" declared Didymus grandly.

Sarah smiled at him and handed him one of lists, "Could you find all of these people and ask them to join me here tomorrow morning at ten?

"Indeed, if any refuse I shall challenge them, upon their honour, to a duel!" he enthused.

"That won't be necessary, Didymus," smiled Sarah, "There is enough violence to come and we don't need to be fighting our own as well. Merely inform them that it is for the good of the kingdom and on authority granted by the king."

The small night bowed and dashed from the room to perform his task and Sarah returned to her preparations.

* * *

><p>As the Goblin Army reached the boundary between their kingdom and the Dwarves several days later, Jareth began the gruelling task of fortifying their position. Palisades were constructed and camp was set up.<p>

The battle would take place in the hills to the west of the city, and still on goblin territory. Jareth had the advantage of his kingdom enhancing his magic over any invader and his army had the higher ground. It was the best location that they could hope for but it was uncertain if these advantages would compensate for the greater numbers of the dwarfs. Even with the new troops the dwarfs outnumbered them by three to one.

Jareth looked from his tent across the battlefield. Every event for the last three years had been leading to this, there was no more hope for diplomacy now. _How many will die here due to stubborn pride?_

General Mdax marched up and saluted smartly, "The scouts are back Your Majesty."

Jareth nodded his head in acknowledgement and turned to the council tent to prepare for the coming battle.

* * *

><p><em>It seems to me that the best relationships, the ones that last, are frequently the ones rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than the night before, like a switch has been flicked somewhere, and the person who was just a friend is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.<em>

_-__Jeffrey Bell_


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16 – The Horrors of War

For five days the goblin scouts had brought Jareth the same report: The Dwarves are there, just out of sight. They haven't moved. There are no signs of fortifications. For five days the goblins had established their defences at the top of the hill on the plains at the border of the Goblin Kingdom. For five days, Jareth had become increasingly short-tempered. He paced around his gazebo-like tent growing ever more irritable and glowering at any who dared to enter. The dwarves taunted him by staying just out of reach. Their current position was too defensible and the increase to his magic by remaining in his own kingdom was too great to give up to chase an army with superior numbers.

Jareth crumpled a sheet of parchment in his fist in frustration, turned back to the table in the middle of the tent and consulted the map spread across it. The extensive wooden palisades had been reinforced with loose rubble provided by Ludo, several score springalds had been constructed along with a good supply of ammunition and there was a field of sharpened wooden stakes between the goblins and the enemy. Jareth had also adjusted the small, rather scrubby bushes that grew dotted on the grasslands. The new form of these bushes tangled with the stakes, their thick vines adorned with four-inch-long thorns. It wouldn't stop them but it would slow them down considerably.

Everything that could be done to prepare had been completed. The only thing left was to wait.

* * *

><p>It took three days for the dwarves to show themselves. They appeared from the hills in the Dwarven lands and spilled onto the edge of the plains, slowly encroaching onto goblin territory. The goblins watched from their fortifications.<p>

Jareth waited until a single form broke away from the main force and began to head into the middle of the field, then took the form of an owl and flew to a point on the outer edge of his archers range, resuming his fae form as he landed. The figure of the Dwarven King stopped some distance away.

"Jareth," sneered the king of dwarves, "At least you had the manners to meet me on the field." He followed this by spitting at his feet.

"It does not have to be this way, this is the product of a misunderstanding, Morthur. Take your army and leave my kingdom and nothing more will come of this error."

"Ha! I will not rest until every goblin has been wiped from the Realm. You and all of your kind shall be exterminated like the vermin you are," with that statement Morthur of the Dwarves stalked back to his troops.

Jareth sighed and returned to the walls at the top of the hill. The bloodshed would begin soon. There was no way now to avoid it.

* * *

><p>Sarah paced in the study. Jareth had left the city in her care: whether he said it in jest or not, Sarah took the responsibility seriously. She had made every preparation she could conceive of from triage centres to deal with any wounded soldiers to a home guard patrolling the Labyrinth. The spy network was on alert for any incoming forces and the city was inundated with refugees from the surrounding countryside and the Labyrinth itself. Everyone had a task to perform when Jareth returned with the army.<p>

Sarah continued her pacing, running possible situations through her mind, trying to guess every possible series of circumstances and prepare for them.

* * *

><p>The first attack came after nightfall. The only warnings the goblins had were the panicked cries from the watchtowers and the snap and thunk of the siege engines hefting the rocks into the air.<p>

Jareth emerged from his tent in full armour, his eyes blazing and sword in hand.

Rocks the size of Jareths fist came crashing from the sky. The palisades deflected most but some had enough momentum to clear the tops of the walls. Those that did so came down with alarming force, dazing or killing any unlucky enough to be hit. There was a howl of frustration from Ludo at this as he was pelted with several rocks, which seemed to bounce off him with relatively no ill effect.

"Shields up!" commanded Jareth, amplifying his voice so every goblin could hear him. Eventually even the slowest goblin caught on and raised his shield to protect his head from the geologically sourced hail raining down upon them.

Several minuets later, the deluge abated and Jareth turned to the commander of the springalds, "General, send Morthur of the Dwarves a reply to that."

The goblin in question saluted smartly then turned to the soldiers manning the springalds, "Return fire!" he bellowed.

"Return fire!" echoed his lieutenants further down the line of engines and there was a satisfying thunk as each springald loosed a long javelin. They gracefully arced through the air and over the wall before sailing directly into the thick of the Dwarven troops and skewering them neatly. No sooner had the javelins left their slings than fresh ones were loaded and released, following the path of the previous volley raining bloody death upon the invaders. This continued until a dozen or so javelins had left each springald and Jareth gave the order to change the ammunition type.

As this order was carried down the line, the javelins loaded onto the springalds were adorned with sealed jars filled with sticky tar and naphtha. Jareth climbed to the top of one of the watchtowers to gage the effect of this upon the rival army. There was much shouting from the engineers of the springalds as they adjusted the trajectory to compensate for the weight of the new projectiles and the Dwarven generals attempted to rally their troops.

Traditionally, Jareth should have waited for the dwarves to mount a new attack. Traditionally, there was an ebb and flow to battle – attack and parry, attack and block; first one army, then the other. Traditionally, lots of soldiers died needlessly. Tradition was what would give Jareth the advantage, because Morthur would not break from tradition, but Jareth could not afford to adhere to it if he wanted to stand a chance of truly winning this battle.

As the new ammunition loosed by the springalds landed in the midst of the Dwarven ranks, there were cries of chagrin. The viscous substance splashed across the troops coating them in tacky black liquid and Jareth could almost feel the wave of confusion as the dwarves attempted to work out why he was hurling something akin to molasses at them. On and on the springalds loosed the naphtha filled vessels at them and the dwarves began to march forward, ignoring the projectiles coming from the relative safety of the goblin palisades.

The stakes and vines did their job effectively and as the dwarves crawled across the battlefield the obstructions were gradually cleared. Every moment the dwarves lingered over a barrier, the springalds continued to rain their glutinous cargo upon them. After an eternity of this, the dwarves reached the point of no return. The springalds deposited the final vessel of naphtha amidst their ranks and Jareth signalled to the archers.

The goblins manning the palisade walls knocked their arrows and lit them on the near-by fires and lanterns. As one entity they drew their arrows, aimed and released. The resulting volley glittered as it arched over the battlefield and plunged into the naphtha-coated ranks of the Dwarven troops.

Horrified shrieking erupted as the flames caught and spread throughout the encroaching force. As each soldier caught fire they began to run in terrified, erratic circles, bumping into cohorts and spreading the fire faster. Pandemonium ensued as pain and agony gripped the ranks of dwarves and the rear formations drew back, turned and fled back out of range of the flaming death raining down from the sky.

Eventually the generals lost control of their troops and the rabble surged back to the dubious safety of the hills and their furious monarch, leaving the charred copses of their still flaming comrades smouldering on the field.

A cheer erupted from the goblin forces as the dwarves retreated and Jareth sighed. The ferocious response to the dwarves opening attack would have one of three responses; either the troops would desert and Morthur would be left with an inferior force, the moral of the army would drop to the point that the goblins stood a chance of victory, or they would realise that the only hope they had of success was to wipe out the goblins here and now. Statistically, the odds were in Jareths favour given that as a racial characteristic, dwarves were extremely reticent with regards to new ideas, but the one in three chance that the gamble would not pay off was what kept Jareth from sleeping that night. That, and the knowledge that if he failed, then Sarah would bare the consequences.

Jareth turned to the head of his army, "See to our wounded and clear the dead. Replace the stakes and vines as much as possible, lets not make it easy for them tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Acknowledged the commander.

Jareth went to his tent and consulted his maps, searching in vain for any possible way to avoid the next day's conflict.

* * *

><p>Jareth was oblivious to the dawn that broke over the plains, too wrapped up in his planning. It was unavoidable that hand-to-hand combat would begin today; the only question that remained was how many would die before it started. The fortifications gave the goblins some measure of protection but now the dwarves new what to expect and just how far Jareth would go to defend his home.<p>

"It's begun Your Majesty," came the voice of General Mdax from behind him.

Jareth followed him out of the tent and onto the palisade. Sure enough, there were the forms of several battering rams slowly trundling their way across the planes. Each ram was covered by a shell to protect the dwarves laboriously pushing it from any projectiles and they had huge wooden wheels were attached to the frame that cradled the enormous wooden rams. Jareth considered this for a moment, then turned to Mdax, "Fetch Ludo the monster," he commanded.

It took several attempts, the best part of twenty minutes and the aid of Hogswatch for Ludo to climb the palisade upon his arrival. Once Ludo was able to see the incoming rams and understand what this meant, Jareth suggested that it might be of assistance for several large rocks to appear in the way, and that, in fact, loose rubble all over the plain, hidden in the long grass would be a huge tactical benefit.

Ludo stared at him for several seconds, blinking as he struggled to piece together what had been said and Jareth feared that he had not been understood. Just as Jareth was about to give up, Ludo nodded and said: "Yah," before letting loose an earth shaking howl. Jareth could feel the rocks moving around under the soil, positioning themselves at intervals and pushing up through the ground.

Several of the rams tipped over as their wheels hit the hidden rocks and the dwarves that were pushing them swarmed around, attempting to hurriedly right them so as to give some measure of protection from the arrows that came buzzing from behind goblin lines. Eventually and laboriously first one, then another of the rams reached the palisade walls and began to hammer until there were a dozen points splintering and buckling under the force of the battering rams and the rubble reinforcing the walls shuddered with every blow.

"Infantry, Ready!" came the cries of the relevant commanders over the thud of the battering rams and the sound of the archers releasing their arrows to impede the encroaching Dwarven foot soldiers. The goblins braced behind the palisade and waited for their protection to give way to the approaching force.

With a mighty crack the wall ruptured and the enemy forces spilled through. The reinforcing rubble provided some protection and caused the dwarves to stumble as their comrades pushed them forward.

A roar erupted from the goblin infantry and they charged forward and engaged. Swords clanged and armour rattled mingling with the cries of the soldiers and escalating into a cacophony of death and destruction.

Jareth vaulted off the wall and reached for his sword, noting almost absently that the walls were haemorrhaging dwarves at several points now. He methodically hacked his way towards General Mdax.

"General," he called out over the sound of hundreds being murdered, "Will you invite the cavalry to join us."

The general shouted back but the words were lost to the noise; Jareth presumed it to be an affirmative given that Mdax lifted a horn to his lips and let loose a blast of sound that echoed off the nearby hills.

After several minutes of waiting the cavalry showed no sigh of arriving and Mdax signalled again. Jareth experienced that slightly sick feeling that preceded the discovery of a particularly nasty surprise and made his way towards the hill that separated the cavalry from the battle with Mdax at his heals and protecting his back.

As they reached the top of the hill, the reason for the tardiness of the cavalry became apparent. Pandemonium had ensued amongst the reserves as the dwarves attacked from behind. There were several places where freshly dug earth was on display and there were signs that the dwarves had tunnelled under the battlefield during the night and were flanking the cavalry, leaving the goblins trapped between the two parts of the Dwarven army and no route of escape.

Jareth let loose a string of curses and mentally searched for the threads of magic connected to the land under the cavalry; adjusting them in such a way that the earth shifted under their feet. There was a dull thump as the tunnels collapsed, trapping the enemy, encasing them in the earth and sentencing them to suffocation in tombs made by their own hands.

Looking down at the fray, Jareth moved to the stabling area; a paddock containing a herd of agitated battle-ready mounts. Jareth summoned his large black charger and mounted, then opened the gate to the pen and drove the remaining herd into a stampede down to the thick of the fighting. As the cavalry's mounts collided with the vestiges of the Dwarven forces in the shallow valley, Jareth roared orders to his troops.

"Mount up! Quickly now gentlemen, we have a battle to win. You can play later!"

As the remaining and grossly outnumbered Dwarven forces were slaughtered the cavalry managed to get to their horses and form up into ranks again. When they were predominantly in place Jareth gave the signal to reinforce the infantry and the host surged forward.

Once they crested the hill and the battlefield unfolded before him, Jareth was struck by the carnage as half of the Dwarven army pushed up the slope, slipping on the mud and blood, trampling the corpses of their comrades. The infantry was hard pressed by the onslaught and their own dead and injured were littering the ground.

At Jareth's signal Mdax loosed another note from the horn and the cavalry spilled down into the conflict as the infantry scrambled onto the palisade walls. Jareth swung his sword at the enemy in his path and the crash of metal to flesh filled the air as the cavalry met the invading forces and ground them against the inside of the fortifications.

Hours of carnage ensued and Jareths arms began to ache from lifting his sword, the grip was slippery with blood and sweat and each blow sent a jarring pain down his arm. At some point an arrow had stuck his off-hand shoulder and the remains of the shaft was protruding from his armour.

Finally, after an eternity of butchery the Dwarven signal to retreat sounded from the foothills and the remains of the invading force fled back to their homeland leaving behind their dead and dying.

"Should we follow, Your Majesty?" asked one of the generals.

Jareth looked at the remains of his own forces, a full two thirds less than when they had arrived, "With what? This battle is over. See to the injured. We leave tomorrow."

Wearily Jareth returned to the reserves area where medical tents were already being established and handed the reins of his horse to a soldier. He then created a tent of his own. Conjuring a basin of hot water and removing his armour Jareth inspected the damage to his arm. He carefully removed the arrowhead then dressed the wound himself before collapsing onto a hastily crafted pallet and falling into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning dawned muted and wan, the insipid light sapping the colour from the plains and rendering the corpses of the fallen in greyscale and murky pastels.<p>

The Dwarven army was nowhere in sight and the goblin forces had broken down the camp, the force moving sluggishly across the land with a trail of wagon behind them, carrying the wounded and the personal effects of any dead goblins to be returned to the families. Jareth waited for the last of his people to be clear of the battlefield and looked across the blighted plain with the dead laid out after being identified.

Manipulating the fabric of his kingdom, Jareth erased the signs of battle and buried the dead, goblin and dwarf, in one motion. A young tree marked each grave; the Dwarven graves were discernible by the sword or helmet of the soldier in question for their families to claim.

When this was done, Jareth shifted in his saddle and rode to the front of the column to lead them home.

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><p><em>Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.<em>_-Otto von Bismarck_

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><p>AN: I'm so sorry for the late arrival of this chapter. Between working full time, social engagements, house hunting, my step-father-in-law being diagnosed with clinical depression and so needing support and my fiancée hogging the computer whenever I'm home because he works from home, goes to bed a stupid O clock and his working day stretches from 11 am to 9 pm, it has been very difficult to write this chapter. I have also never written a battle scene before so I hope it was worth the wait. If it wasn't then I apologise again.<p> 


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter 17 – In Which Jareth Returns Home**

Sarah was in the study when word reached her that the Jareth had returned. The city was a hive of activity as everyone scrambled to be in place to deal with the returning army. The triage centres were braced for casualties and there were boards set up to relay information to family in the form of lists of the dead or injured, missing or accounted for. The kitchens were beginning to churn out food by the barrel load and a temporary mess hall had been set up in the courtyard to feed everyone. The barracks were ready to be slept in, the home guard were patrolling the Labyrinth and the civilians all had their tasks to do.

Nausea hit Sarah as she ran a hand through her dishevelled hair, smoothed her dress and walked quickly to the courtyard to manage the chaos. Fear for her friends dominated her mind. _What if they didn't make it? What if I never see him again? What if it's too late?_

Taking a breath to calm her thoughts, Sarah stepped into the courtyard and began directing goblins around her in their preparations.

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><p>Jareth lead his army though the Labyrinth towards the city, opening the way for the troops and cutting through the twists and turns and heading directly for the gates. As they moved, Jareth was surprised to see that the Labyrinth was being patrolled and the city walls were manned, the shrill voice of Didymus drifting down as he shouted orders to the troops there.<p>

Upon entering the city Jareth was greeted by the sight of a surprisingly large and well-organised team of medics who descended upon the wounded and whisked them away to various tents and buildings to be treated. Hiding the bandage on his shoulder under his cloak, Jareth continued to head towards the castle, closing the Labyrinth behind the last of the troops. Food was being ferried in huge cauldrons and on enormous platters to the triage areas and the smell of cooking drifted from the centre of the city.

As Jareth reached the courtyard a goblin stepped forward and took his horses reins while he dismounted. Inside he could see the activity continue as piles of bread were laid onto long tables with benches either side and another series of cauldrons bubbled on fires along one wall. The centre of the events in the courtyard was around Sarah who stood tall and pale in a black dress trimmed with silver and her sword at her side. She was absorbed in coordinating the goblins and did not notice Jareth watching her. He signalled for the troops to go and eat, using the distraction to slip up behind her.

"What is all this?" he asked quietly from just by her ear.

Sarah spun around sending her long dark hair flying, her expression going from anxiety to surprise to relief and then joy as she smiled, "Don't scare me like that!" she admonished, almost laughing now.

"My apologies," Jareth smiled and looked around the courtyard, "You did all of this?"

Sarah nodded, "You said that I should take care of things, so I did my best," she replied, anxiety creeping into her eyes again.

"It is more than I could have hoped for," he responded sincerely and she smiled.

The moment stretched and for several long seconds they stared at each other.

"You must be tired and hungry, I think there should be a bath drawn and some clean clothes in your room if you want to do that first and I can bring you some food when you're done," Sarah offered.

Jareth considered for a moment, as much as he wanted to stay and talk with Sarah, the prospect of being clean and fed was incredibly tempting. Jareth smiled, "I will bathe first and then you can advise me on developments here while I eat," he paused as he saw Ludo and Hoggle enter the courtyard with the knight that Sarah was so fond of, "While I am occupied you should speak with your friends," he continued and gestured towards them. Sarah nodded her agreement and turned to them.

"Jareth?" she said over her shoulder before he made his way to his sanctuary, "I'm glad you're home," and she moved towards her friends.

* * *

><p>The hot water stung the wound on his shoulder but Jareth persevered and once he was clean the aching dulled a little. He was dressed but topless and attempting put his shirt on without opening the wound again and without using magic when there was a tap at his door. Jareth sent out a probing thought and identified Sarah.<p>

"Give me a moment," he said and grit his teeth against the pain of lifting his arm. There was a hesitant pause from behind the door.

"Are you alright?" Sarah's voice came muffled but concerned from the study beyond.

Jareth considered this for a moment. On one hand, if he was having trouble lifting his arm then the wound needed to be examined; on the other, he did not want to concern Sarah over a trivial scratch. While weighing this up, he realised that if he attempted to keep this from her then she would inevitably find out by some other means and he did not want to contemplate how badly it might affect their relationship if that happened. Jareth sighed, put the shirt down and opened the door.

Sarah was carrying a plate of food in one hand, which she almost dropped, and her eyes widened in horror and when she saw the large, deep, angry looking gash running from his collarbone to his bicep. After a moment of shock she looked him in the eyes, "Why didn't you see the medics when you came in?" she demanded.

He raised one eyebrow at her tone but spoke conversationally with only a hint that he was displeased; "You have just had an unpleasant surprise, so I will let that go. To answer your question; I don't want anyone else to know I was injured. We are very vulnerable right now and any sign of further weakness could trigger an attack that we cannot cope with, even with your civilian soldiers."

Sarah broke eye contact and looked contrite as he rebuked her. After a moment of silence she looked at the wound again, "Let me clean that properly for you. I've been taking lessons with the new medics while you were away."

"Thank you," Jareth reached out with his good hand and gently tilted her chin up so she met his eyes again, "I am sorry that I scared you: I could have warned you."

Sarah gave a nod of acknowledgment at his words and a small smile. Jareth reluctantly released her and she placed the food on her desk across the room and covered it. As she created a fresh basin of hot water along with dressings and a pot of strong, herbal scented salve on his desk; Jareth sat and turned his chair to give her access to his injury. Creating a second basin she pulled up her sleeves and scrubbed her hands with soap then turned to him. When she knelt on the floor in front of him she was eye level with the wound and her skirts were pooled around her in a circle.

The hot water stung the wound again as she used the sponge to clean it, and the salve that she used as soap burned; but it was the stinging of disinfectant, and once it had been completed the dull ache was barley detectable. With that completed, Sarah washed her hands again and created a needle and thread, along with a tiny glowing bauble for light that hovered by her shoulder, then moved in closer so she was only a few inches away.

She glanced up at Jareth, "I'm sorry if this hurts, and I'll try and keep the stitches straight."

Jareth didn't trust himself to answer her when she was so close that the vanilla and cinnamon scent of her hair overrode the herbs of the salve; instead he gestured that she should continue. Sarah began to stitch the hole closed and Jareth became fascinated by her teeth worrying at her lip as she concentrated, to the point that he scarcely felt the needle. Each time Jareth remembered to inhale, her scent was drawn deeply into his lungs, destroying his concentration. When she had finished stitching she dismissed the light, applied more salve and cleaned her hands again on a cloth.

Placing a dressing on the wound, Sarah began to bandage around his chest to hold it in place then pinned the end, catching him with the sharp tip as she did so. Jareths hand snaked out and shackled her wrist without him being conscious of his decision to do so. Her mumbled apology was barely heard as, on an uncontrollable compulsion, he carefully reached out with his injured arm to cradle her face in his hand, running the pad of his thumb over her cheek and down to the corner of her mouth. She shivered irresistibly under his touch and a flush crept along her cheeks. Sarah's unshackled hand rested lightly on his bare chest. Jareth moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck, used his thumb to tilt her face towards him.

"Friend Sarah, art thou present?" came a shrill and hated voice.

Jareths eye went to slits and a quiet growl escaped his throat as he contemplated doing violence to the magic forsaken creature on the other side of his door.

"The Bog of Eternal Stench is not punishment enough," he muttered.

"Very true," Sarah murmured her agreement as she blinked and looked at him, "he can't smell it, so definitely not a punishment," There was a banging at the door, "Do you think he knows we are in here?" she asked quietly, sounding a little breathless as Jareth ran his thumb over the pounding pulse on her wrist.

"May I enter?" Didymus asked.

Jareth sighed, "I believe so," For a moment he considered whisking them to the garden, responsibilities be damned, and continuing with the alluring prospect of continuing with this current development. Looking at her, he could see the same conflict reflected in her eyes. Another growl of frustration trickled from his throat as, with great difficulty, he shook his head and set aside the temptation; he would not allow their relationship to be based on stolen moments that would be the source of future regret.

With a thought Jareth dematerialised the basins of water, the dressings and all other signs that a wound had been cleaned and stood, bringing Sarah up with him. He grudgingly released her wrist and trailed his fingers along her jaw as he stepped back to a companionable distance, his shirt appearing in his hand. Jareth dressed quickly and summoned Sarah's chair as she attempted to compose herself. He sat back down and indicated Sarah should do the same, noting with certain satisfaction that she was still blushing.

"Enter," Jareth commanded, slightly coldly, and the door opened to reveal Sir Didymus.

"Friend Sarah, thou art required in the main hall post haste!" he declared and turned to charge back down the corridor.

Jareth sighed and muttered under his breath to himself, "Why is it that he always knows precisely the wrong moment to interrupt?" He glanced at Sarah as she began to stand and noticed a slight apprehension to her expression, "Wait a moment."

Sarah stopped mid step as she headed quickly for the door, but did not turn. There was a slight tension in her shoulders.

"Yes?" she asked with a forced calm, though a slight anxiety touched the edges of her voice.

"What are you hiding? What do you know about the knight's unnatural ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?" He asked with a suspicion growing in the back of his mind. Jareth waited for a moment for her to answer. When none came he rose to his feet and moved between Sarah and the door, cutting off any escape route, "What secrets are you keeping from me, Sarah?"

Sarah was looking determinedly at the wall and not meeting his eyes as she chewed her lip with an expression of combined embarrassment and what Jareth could only interpret as mild terror.

* * *

><p>Jareths gave Sarah a look that clearly stated that he would wait all day for an answer and that she wasn't going anywhere until she gave in. Sarah could feel her face heating as the blush returned with full force and she internally agonised over telling him. He would find out eventually, that she was sure of, and it would be better if she could just tell him; but the thought of owning up to something that she was only just beginning to be able to admit to herself was almost too much.<p>

Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then spoke very quickly before she could lose her nerve, "When I first met Didymus I was thinking about how you kind of scared me and that I needed someone to stop me from being scared which is why he is immune to the bog because that seemed to be your favourite threat except now you think that I'm _scared_ of you and that's not really true it's a very specific kind of scared and it's more of _me_ than you and I'm sorry that I keep getting scared and it's kind of the save me from myself because it's not really being scared but it kind of _is_ and this is all coming out wrong but the point is that it's not his fault that he keeps turning up at the wrong moments so please don't be angry with him over it and I would _very _much like to go can I please go now?"

Sarah was breathing hard by the time that she had finished and there was only silence from Jareth. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Sarah opened one eye and peaked at Jareth, who stood in front of her. Anyone who didn't know him would have said he looked impassive, but the almost undetectable twitch of one eyebrow spoke volumes of surprise and a barely perceptible tremor in the corner of his mouth belied a restrained desire to smile.

"I see," said Jareth evenly, "And every time that he has appeared like that, you have been feeling…scared, for lack of a better word?"

Sarah nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak.

Jareth was silent for several more moments before taking pity on her, "Go and see what the issue is downstairs, then come and brief me on recent events," he said as he stepped back towards his desk. As Sarah made a dash for the door he called to her; "Don't be too long."

Sarah mumbled an agreement as she moved out into the corridor and shut the heavy wooden door behind her. As she reached the end of the corridor, she heard the muffled but unmistakable sound of laughter from the study. Not malicious laughter, but a laugh of surprise and relief and elation.

Sarah bolted for the courtyard, her face flaming all over again.

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><p>Over the days that followed, Jareth began to notice the patterns in the behaviour of Didymus. Whenever he was closer that a mere friend would be, Didymus would appear. If they were alone for any length of time, talking or laughing, Didymus had some trivial problem that required the immediate attention of one of them. Jareth considered sending the creature away and having done with it but the indication that the appearance of the tiny knight was linked to trepidation on Sarah's part caused him to restrain himself.<p>

It even became a manner of challenge that he raised to an art form and Jareth revelled in the indecision that warred on Sarah's face each time her friend appeared. On several occasions Didymus was spurred into action simply by allowing Sarah to notice Jareth watching her from across a crowded room. It was also clear that Sarah knew exactly what he was doing and while she would chide him for his behaviour in private, the innocently posed question of "Stop doing what?" often caused a re-emergence of Didymus. It was evident that her protests came more from unease at the thought of the emotional vulnerability than a genuine desire for him to cease.

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><p>It was several weeks before the scouts reported sightings of large numbers of troops massing along the border, and then moving into goblin territory. The war continued and the city prepared for a protracted siege.<p>

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><p><em>No cord nor cable can so forcibly draw, or hold so fast, as love can do with a twined thread. -Robert Burton<em>


End file.
